The Demons Return
by Aussie Raven
Summary: When the Kingdom of Erusua declares war on Osea during the Lighthouse War, Captain Alex 'Blaze' Williams and his wingmates of the Razgriz Squadron find themselves back in the chaos of the skies. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1 - Folly at Oured

_No-one knows what happened to the Demons of Razgriz after the Circum-Pacific War. Speculated by some to be the former 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Osean Air Force, they all but disappeared into legend, their work complete._

Listening to a radio broadcast while sitting in the driver's seat of a Unimog flatbed truck, Alex Williams scoffed, eyes on the highway ahead of him. A slight smile crossed his face. Rolling along that highway at high speed, the mechanic and ex-pilot looked out left to see where he was going in the distance; Naval Station Oured, the largest naval base in the country. Located in and around her docks were various warships, ranging from the small patrol boats used by security to the hulking aircraft carriers like the OFS _Vulture II _currently docked there.

Alex took an exit off the highway to approach the base's main entry. The four-lane asphalt road narrowed into four separate entry and exit points. Approaching one of the entrances, he was waved down to the check-in by a sailor. Alex rolled down his window. The cool morning breeze hit him.

'Morning Alex.' The sailor greeted him. The former was armed, an M4 rifle slung off his platecarrier. The customary nametag was born on the front of his hat, _Kaiata. _

'Morning John.' Alex replied in kind, passing Kaiata his ID card. The guard scanned it into a hand-held device, nodded and gave it back. 'Have a good day man.'

'Likewise.' Kaiata opened the gate for Alex to drive through. Thirty-two years old, Alex _Blaze _Williams was a former Osean Air Defence Force fighter pilot and leader of both the Wardog Squadron and the legendary Razgriz special flight unit. After the Circum-Pacific War some nine years ago, Alex retired from being a pilot and became a civilian aircraft mechanic. While matured compared to his wartime self, Blaze still had that part of aggression in him.

He came up to the parking lot, found one of many empty spots and parked. Blaze got out bringing a toolcase with him. Being one of the non-military personnel he was forced to go through administration before he could get to work on whatever the issue was for that day. _Probably that one fucking Tomcat_, he thought to himself as the dry air of the administration building hit him. A desk lady flagged him down to get Blaze into the base. The conversation was quick and to the point. ID, roster, checking attendence for the rest of the group. Easy.

Blaze was out and physically onto the base within a minute. The sun could be seen rising in the distance, casting a handful of destroyers into shadow. Despite being some of the smaller ships in the fleet, they were still intimidating to look at. Toolbox in hand, he took a second or two to observe the two ships in their glory. _Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Drake and Garrett, _he decided. For an early morning start, the piers were surprisingly void. Much of the Osean Navy's 1st Fleet which was based in Oured was out at sea under Exercise Void Dragon. Preparation for some vessels to be deployed to the Arctic region. The only exceptions were some smaller patrol vessels, those two destroyers which were held back for security reasons and the aircraft carrier _Vulture, _which had been having issues with propulsion and weapons being the most recent addition to the Navy's carrier fleet.

Approaching closer to where he was meant to be, another one of the civilian contractors approached him from a restroom.

'Morning Ren.' Alex greeted the tall, stocky man.

Ren _Renny_ Hogan smiled with pitch white teeth. 'Morning.' Compared to Alex, Renny was fucking massive at 6' 6" compared to the former's 5-11, finely muscled. The guy was also black, a friendly person.

'What's the job for today?' Alex asked, eyes focused on a workshop behind the hangar section that housed the land-based aircraft for the connected airfield. _Don't be the Tomcat, don't be the Tomcat-_

'F-14, N37-001, avionics problem.'

_Fuck_. Alex exhaled to himself. 'Should have retired the fucking things. They're well out of date.'

'Yeah, but you try explaining that to the Navy.'

'Fair point.'

Meanwhile

MV _Advent_, large cargo vessel

Oured Bay

The bay waters were calm and clear, largely undisturbed. Perfect weather for naval operations.

The ship's captain rubbed a hand through crew-cut hair anxiously. One of the bridge crew noticed this.

'Captain, what's the chance this'll work?' She asked.

'It has to or this operation would be for nothing.' The captain replied quietly. He looked out onto the cargo vessel's forecastle and deck. Stacks of shipping containers were arranged neatly in various colours, greens and yellows and reds and blues.

'Captain, we're within optimal engagement range.' Another of the bridge crew informed the captain. The latter nodded.

'Launch the fighters. Destroy all high-priority targets on the base.'

On those cargo containers, the roofs of many started opening to reveal white constructs underneath. MQ-99 combat drones mounted on catapults hidden inside those cargo containers, small but agile and packing a punch in numbers. The captain gave a hand signal to his UAV operator and in puffs of steam each individual UAV launched into the air. They launched in rows. All 60 UAVs were airborne in under a minute.

Their target?

Naval Station Oured.

Naval Station Oured Airfield

Hangar 8, VFA-151 'Raiders'

Alex, Renny and a couple of Navy mechanics approached the Tomcat they were meant to be fixing up. The aircraft was an old bird, one of the last batches of F-14 that the Navy still operated. This particular aircraft was painted tones of light grey and a blue-white. To the other half of the hangar was an operational F/A-18C Hornet. Its pilot was gearing up for a routine sortie.

'Let's get these panels open. See what's up.' Alex decided, opening his toolbox. Among other tools, he grabbed out a screwdriver and spanner. He started opening the nose cone that housed the Tomcat's AWG-9 radar. The others opened panels underneath the nose and belly of the Tomcat looking for damage to wires, piping and basically anything electrical. Alex found himself lost in his work, maneuvering around the front end of the aircraft looking for any signs of damage or wear.

It wasn't until after the first hour that they found the problem.

'Renny?' Alex called out.

'Yo.' Renny answered, head inside the front landing gear's bay.

'I think I found the problem. Take a look.'

Renny crouched towards the front of the aircraft. Alex had a hand on the nose of the Tomcat next to the radar, his opposite hand pointing at a busted capacitor. Its cap was cracked at the top rendering it dead. Renny almost slapped himself when he saw it.

'Fuck me sideways.' He muttered.

Alex half-laughed before the P/A system cut him off. A male, one with a deep voice, boomed from it. The tone seemed urgent.

'Set base condition red, numerous unknown aircraft approaching.' Alex was confused. _The fuck did I miss? _He looked over to the Hornet on the other side of the hangar. Compared to the calm pace that the ground crew were working at an hour ago, they were now frantically fueling and arming the aircraft with a full anti-air loadout; Sidewinders, AMRAAMs and a loaded cannon. Without any warning, a proper battle alarm began to ring loudly. Alex recognised it as the general quarters alarm typically used on warships. The two navy mechanics were rushing to their battle stations. Alex followed by instinct.

Which was when an explosion and a hail of shrapnel ripped through the back wall of the hangar.

And everything went to shit.


	2. Chapter 2 - Black Smoke

The Tomcat was consumed in the explosion. Shrapnel ripped apart its fuselage, fire burning off the paint. Alex was pushed forward by the explosion, slamming into one of the mechanics and knocking him over. Renny was not as lucky, caught in the brunt of the attack. He was shredded apart, meaty chunks of him being flung all around the hangar. Mercifully he was killed instantly. Across from the Tomcat, the Hornet's pilot shouted, hit in the legs and back.

Alex spat out blood from a busted lip, stood up. A sonic boom from overhead snapped him out of his dazed state and into a condition of alertness. He ran to the runway end of the hangar and looked out. A small aircraft boomed overhead.

_Wait, no._

The aircraft suddenly pulled a high-speed 180 turn and flew for the docks. Gatling gun fire lit it up causing a bright explosion in the air. _No manned aircraft could pull off those sort of turns easily. _

'Drones.' Alex muttered to himself. He looked back towards the hangar. Renny was nowhere to be seen and the Hornet pilot was injured. Looking at the smoke starting to billow up from around the base, Alex realised there were two options. Get off the base and run as a civilian should, or commandeer the aircraft and fight.

An explosion rocked the hangar across from him.

_Fuck it. _

Alex dashed towards the Hornet and its wounded pilot. The guy's G-suit was cut open in places and blood oozed on to the smooth cement floor. He was a Navy pilot of VFA-151 according to the patches on his uniform. A lieutenant. Alex slid on the floor next to the pilot.

'Lieutenant,' he started with an urgent tone. 'Can you fly?'

The lieutenant simply shook his head, in too much pain to speak. Alex slipped the helmet off of the pilot. Luckily he was the same head size so the helmet fit. The lieutenant rested his now bare head against the floor, frowning at Alex.

'Ex-Air Force, I know how to fly.' The latter replied, putting the helmet on and rapidly dashing up the ladder into the cockpit of the Hornet. Sliding into the ejection seat was an exercise long since drilled into Alex's brain as a simple manervour having done it so many times in the past. Seated correctly, he then strapped himself into the seat. Easy. Radio traffic from the base was flowing through the headset of the helmet. Among other things, a couple of lines caught Alex's attention.

'_Enemy MQ-99 drones everywhere!'_

'_This is the Vulture, we are underway and heading out to sea!'_

That meant two things. One, there was a major strike going on. Secondly, the carrier had survived the first alpha volley and was underway on its own propulsion. Half good, half bad. Alex shut the canopy. Seeing what he was doing, the two mechanics from before pulled out the wheel chocks which let Alex roll out of the hangar and on to the taxiway. Looking through the bubble canopy he then got an idea of the scale of the attack. Missiles, AA batteries and CIWS mounts were all shooting out to the sky attempting to intercept the many drones that were attacking the base. One drone caught a burst of flak, veered off course and smashed into another Hornet idling on the taxiway. Alex clipped the oxygen mask and radio mouthpiece on, flipped down the visor to cut glare.

He breathed in.

The first time that a Razgriz member had been seen for nine years.

'This is Captain Alex Williams, callsign Blaze. Taking off Runway 3 Right.' Unsurprisingly no-one answered his takeoff call. There were no other aircraft attempting to take off. Were they all destroyed? Alex didn't know and didn't have the time to care, instead focusing on getting onto the runway and punching it to get into the air. The dual F404 turbofans roared as they got up to maximum thrust and in a single, short movement Alex found himself in the air.

'_Blaze, Tower Control, status?'_ The ground command contacted him. Surprisingly for him, the drone strike had not crippled the command centre first.

'Tower, Blaze, airborne and ready to fight. Where are they?'

'_The main swarm is attacking the Vulture and other vessels in the bay.'_

'Copy that, engaging.' Alex banked to the left looking for contacts. He didn't have to go far, a single drone detecting his aircraft. It came in from Blaze's front. Before it could fire however, Blaze caught the jet with a burst of cannon fire which shredded the fuselage of the drone. It went down, smoking and on fire. With _that_ issue out of the way, Blaze now had free reign to attack the anti-ground orientated drones.

'Blaze, Fox 2.' Following the old habit, Alex cycled to the IR-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinders and fired a pair into a column of the drones going for an attack run. Moving at supersonic speeds both missiles hit with large explosions, knocking both drones out of the sky. The rest of the formation reacted to the destruction of two of their flight and made a sharp turn to evade. Blaze turned with them, almost blacking out from the G-force. His vision went grey, barely managing to fire another Sidewinder at the drones he was trailing. At the short distance Blaze was forced to bank again to avoid the exploding wreck. _Gonna knock myself out at this rate,_ he thought as colour returned to his vision. The sharp chime of a radar warning receiver informing him that one of the drones had a lock on him forced the captain to bank evasively to break it. The chime became a beeping sound indicating that there was a missile after him. Cursing Blaze rotated and flew downwards all the time dropping chaff and flares. The flares worked, spoofing the missile and making it fly above and past him. That offending drone followed in the attack diving after Blaze. It didn't execute the turn very well, putting itself in front of his nose and cannon. Rolling his eyes, Blaze punished the drone for its mistake, letting rip with the cannon and tearing the drone apart. Four kills. That rapidly turned into a fifth as Blaze loosed off another Sidewinder.

'First group is down, looking for new targets.' Blaze reported to everyone who could hear.

'_Blaze, Panther Lead. The drones appear to be going out to sea, we're intercepting.' _A new voice popped through Blaze's headset. The voice belonged to that of a female. She sounded calm and in control of the situation.

'Rog, Panther, joining to intercept.'

'_Check your six.'_

Blaze looked over his shoulder and the back of the canopy. _Nothing?-_

Three F-35C Lightnings abruptly shot past, mildly surprising the captain. The three aircraft didn't stop forcing Blaze to apply more power to his engines to keep up.

'_Haunter, Fox 3.'_

'_Talon, Fox 3.'_

'_Bullet, Fox 3.'_

The three Lightning pilots simultaneously let off a wave of long-range air-to-air missiles. Not wanting to be left out, Blaze did the same by locking onto the distant drones and loosing off a couple of AMRAAMs. In the distance there were flashes, black smoke and flames. A couple of seconds later and there were a few more, the staggered effect of Blaze firing his missiles later than the others. There were a lot of drones resulting in the makeshift flight having to pump the rest of their available missiles into the body of metal and even then there were survivors.

'_Panther Squadron, veer to port. Let us have a shot at it.' _Another new voice. This came from an officer of a destroyer that had made it out of the port, OFS _Drake. _The Lightnings banked to the left in compliance without a reply. Blaze followed them, scanning the bay waters for the destroyer. All he could see was black smoke billowing from struck warships and the base itself. The next time Blaze looked back at the now-distant drone force he saw more smoke coming off of destroyed aircraft. The destroyer had certainly done its job as an air-defence vessel. '_Targets destroyed.'_

'_All aircraft and warships currently in the vicinity of Oured Bay, head out to sea. Do NOT return to port until directed. I repeat, make steam for the Spring Sea.'_

Blaze whistled. A civil aircraft mechanic had somehow managed to find himself back in the thick of things outside. _That_ was going to be an interesting one to explain to his work colleagues.

**Some hours later **

**The Spring Sea, east of Osea**

The next few hours were uneventful as they were boring. From radio chatter that Blaze overheard, the attack on the base had occurred on most of the naval bases and strategic locations around the country. On top of that, Erusua had declared war on them. To top things off much of the OMDF's carrier fleet had been cripplied or was now sitting at the bottom of the ocean. _Vulture _was one of the few carriers that hadn't been rendered combat-ineffective.

For the time being Blaze stuck with his new-found air buddies, Panther Squadron. Judging by the aircraft type and markings they were a Navy formation.

Their relief came at around three in the afternoon. Low on fuel, the flight was ordered to land on the carrier. Blaze was tense to the point of getting a headache from trying to concentrate on landing. While he had done carrier landings in the past it had been near enough ten years. He was out of practice a little.

Confused deckhands helped him get out of the aircraft, a man in mechanic clothes, civilian ones no less. Blaze ignored the mild commotion from the _Vulture's _crew, followed an understandably confused pilot who showed him to an empty room where he could catch some rest.

'Thank you.' Alex said, a little out of breath, to the pilot. He took a seat on the rack, laid back a little. The pilot stood in the doorway for a little bit. He was young, Alex could tell.

'Sir?' He asked after a moment of silence.

'Yeah?'

'I heard the radio. You're a Wardog?'

Alex smiled but internally cursed. Of course his reputation was still bouncing around.

'Wardog 1. The 108th Fighter Squadron.' Alex said quietly. He chuckled. 'Fuck, that was almost ten years ago.'

The pilot smiled. 'Thanks.'

Alex sat up a little. 'What for?'

'You probably wouldn't remember, but you and your flightmates saved my life when I was a kid on base at Sand Island.'

Alex then legitimately smiled at the pilot. 'Doing my job.' He got up, went to shake the hand of the pilot. 'Name's Alex. Yours?'

'Joshua Nicholas.' Josh shook Alex's hand. 'You look battered. I'll let you get some rest.'

'Thank you.' Josh left the room and shut the door behind him, leaving Alex to lay down and fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - Back On The Grid

Orbit over Earth

Pilgrim I Space Mission

Not much could compare to the view provided from a spacecraft. No atmospheric interference to block out the sheer beauty of the stars beyond.

That factor didn't apply to the tired crew of the Arkbird. There wasn't the time nor the comprehension to see that right now. Not when there was a war being waged on the surface of their home planet. In the banter room of the bird-like space vessel, Captain Kei Nagase and the rest of the crew watched live news on the situation.

'_The Kingdom of Erusea has declared war on the Osean Federation.'_

Kei sighed. The world was in the shitter once again. And this time she wasn't in the middle of it.

'John,' Kei said to Pilgrim I's executive officer. 'Can you watch the guys for a minute? I need to make a call.' John nodded, allowing Kei to stand up and find her way to her quarters. The bleach-white door opened to reveal her room. It was fairly small and empty save a few personal belongings, including an old-style phone. She picked it up, called a number listed as '_Alex'_. The line dialed for a couple of seconds, trying to connect to the phone network.

Alex woke up to the sound of an Apple phone ringtone and a vibration in his chest. Groaning, he unzipped a chest pocket and pulled out his phone. _Who the fuck is calling me at 1 in the morning?_

The number read '_Kei Edge_'. Nagase? Alex laid up on the rack to answer.

'Hello?' Alex muttered in his morning voice.

'_Alex? Oh thank god you're alive. Where are you?'_ Alex froze for a second, unsure of how to answer.

'Uh, would you be surprised if I said I was on an aircraft carrier?'

There was a pause. '_What did you do?' _

'Long story,' Alex rubbed his eyes and yawned. Kei chuckled behind the line.

'_I've got time. We're probably gonna be stuck in orbit for a while._'

'If you insist. I was working at the naval base hangars in Oured when the attack happened. The pilot next to us was injured so I took his aircraft. Next thing you know all military assets are ordered to head out to sea and I'm with them.'

'_My god Alex, you're into the thick of things as always.'_

'Tell me about it-' A knocking on the cabinet door interrupted their conversation. 'I've gotta go. Good to hear from you.'

'_Likewise. Stay safe_.'

'I will.' Alex hung up the line, dropped his phone and went to the door so he could open it. There were three men at the door; a security guard in working uniform, an admiral and a female pilot.

'Alex Williams?' The admiral asked. His tone was neutral.

'That's me.'

'Rear Admiral Tahir Logan, Osean Navy. This is Lieutenant-Commander Ashley North,' Logan pointed to the pilot, who nodded. 'I need to ask you some questions pertaining to your military history and what you're doing here.'

Alex agreed with him. He was escorted out of the room, through hallways, down a couple of decks and into an isolated briefing room behind the aft hangar. The guard left the group, replaced by another pilot. This one was older and looked like he had plenty of experience in aerial combat. Alex got the seat facing the three Navy officers at the opposite end of a desk. Admiral Logan asked Alex a series of questions.

'You are Captain Alex Edwin Williams, former Osean Air Defence Force?'

'Yes.'

'Were you at any stage in your career in command of the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Wardogs?'

'Yes.'

'Were you and your squadron assumed Killed In Action on or around the 7th of December, 2010?'

'Yes.'

'Well that wraps up my end. Commander?' Logan finished his series of questions, writing down the responses in a notebook. Ashley leaned forward slightly, balancing her chin on her hands.

'Hmm. Captain, what do you know about the Demons of Razgriz squadron that appeared shortly after your assumed death?'

'Wardog Squad _were_ the Demons of Razgriz. We all survived being shot down, we were recovered by the old carrier _Kestral. _Then-president Harling formed us into a special forces squadron. That unit is who you know.' Ashley nodded, laid back a little.

'You didn't take up flying after the war?'

Alex shrugged. 'Did my time in the Air Force. Figured I'd switch out for something a little different. In this case an aircraft mechanic contracted with the Navy.'

The third, older pilot interjected. 'Hang on a minute. You haven't flown since the war?'

'Correct.' Alex replied casually. The former whistled, impressed by the flight skills of the retired captain.

'Your position leaves you in an odd predicament captain.' Admiral Logan pitched back in.

'Tell me something I don't know sir.'

'A job offer.'

Alex frowned, crossed his arms. 'You don't mean-'

'Alex, you probably know that we're at war with the Eruseans. Naval Command ordered our carrier, aircraft and escorts to head out to sea to join the fight.' Ashley answered for the admiral. 'Way things are right now, it's not likely you'll be seeing Osean soil for a while either way. What Admiral Logan is trying to say is that you can either join the carrier air wing and fight with us, and trust me we need as many experienced pilots as we can get, or stay on this vessel for a long while with nothing to do.'

'Sounds like being drafted with extra steps.' Alex joked, biting his lip. He gave it a minute or so of thought. Not much choice. 'Okay sir. I'm in.'

The older pilot offered his hand to Alex. 'Welcome to the Vulture. I'm Commander Brian Turnell, VFA-173 squadron leader. I'll brief you on particulars once the higher-ups fix up paperwork.'


	4. Chapter 4 - Interdiction (Part I)

The following morning, Alex was officially inducted as a member of the Osean Maritime Defence Force. A new uniform, rank tab and badges were provided to him. Based off sheer flight experience and skill, he was made an O-4, a Lieutenant-Commander.

_A paygrade higher than I had, but okay,_ Alex thought as LCDR Ashley introduced him to her other squadron members.

'Welcome to Panther Squad, the most understaffed unit in the fleet.' Ashley cracked a joke at her own expense. Alex chuckled at it. They were in the foremost hangar segment of the carrier where most of the ship's fighter and attack aircraft were located; a handful of F-35Cs, about a dozen F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, two F-14 Tomcats and Alex's own F/A-18C. Two pilots were seated in their F-35s, the same that Alex had seen when he joined up with the Panthers.

'Those two yours?' Alex asked, indicating to the two.

'Yep. Bullet, Talon!' Ashley shouted to those two pilots. One looked over, the other didn't reply. The former answered. 'Morning chief. This the new guy?' She got out of the cockpit and went down the ladder.

'You could say that.' Alex replied. The unknown pilot walked over to him and Ashley. The gal was about the same size and bulk as Alex but had long dark green hair in comparison to Alex's short dark brown hair.

'I mean, you're new to this squad.' She offered her hand to Alex. 'I'm Zoe Davis, but everyone here calls me Talon.'

'Well hello Talon.' Alex smiled, shaking her hand.

'Glad to have you around Blaze.' Talon turned to the man who hadn't answered. 'Bullet, are you gonna greet our new squadmate?'

Bullet took off his helmet and turned his head. 'Probably should eh?' He replied. 'You've met Talon, squad commander is Haunter, I'm Bullet. My actual name is Mark.'

The 1MC cut off the introductions.

'_Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking. As you all know we are at war. We've just received instructions from Naval Command. We are to make haste north-east to meet up with the Kestral II's carrier strike group. From there we attack land installations in Erusea. They asked for a fight, they are going to get a fight. That is all.'_

Bullet whistled from his cockpit. 'Welp, at least we're not going to be the only ones in the sky.'

'Amen.' Talon agreed.

Another message came down the 1MC. '_Panther Squadron, report to briefing four.'_

'That's us.' Ashley noted. 'Brief Four is back of the hangar.'

Some ten minutes later the crew found themselves seated in a small room with a desk and projector at the front. The carrier's air commander, Brian, was briefing them. Members from the other squadrons embarked were also in the room.

_May 17, 2019, 1130 Hours_

_Operation Sea Demon_

_'Our Hawkeye early-warning aircraft have detected an Erusean carrier strike group placed in between us and the Kestral strike group. The Kestral is currently running at EMCON Alpha to avoid detection which leaves the job to our aircraft.'_

_'The strike group consists of a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier and a half dozen surface attack destroyers. This poses a significant threat to our operations. Panther, Razor and Hammer Squadrons, you will be launched to intercept and destroy this strike group.'_

_AIRCRAFT_

_Haunter/Panther 1: F-35C Lightning _

_Bullet/Panther 2: F-35C Lightning_

_Talon/Panther 3: F-35C Lightning_

_Blaze/Panther 4: F/A-18C Hornet_

Blaze strapped on his survival vest, adjusted the straps to his size and fitting so the vest wouldn't come off should he be shot down. In the crew ready bay Haunter, Bullet and Talon did the same with theirs. This time Blaze actually had a G-suit on so he wouldn't near black out like yesterday morning. He used the helmet he had borrowed from the Hornet's original pilot, where the rest of the squad had bulky Scorpion helmets with an in-built HMD.

'Hey Blaze,' Talon started a conversation, all the while tying up straps. 'How long's it been since you've flown off a carrier?'

'Decent while. Nine years?' Blaze replied, slipping on the helmet.

'God have mercy on your soul.'

'He'll be right.' Haunter interjected. 'You _were_ the country's best ace, surely that can't entirely rust off.'

Everyone looked at each other, checking for any gear problems. There were none, allowing Panther Squad to exit the ready bay and move to their assigned aircraft; three Lightnings, one Hornet. They embarked. Deck crew attatched the aircraft to moving tractors to get them onto the deck elevators and up to the flight deck where they could be launched. Blaze found himself being placed on the fore starboard elevator of the Ford-class carrier. As that elevator made it to the deck he saw two Super Hornets launch a second apart from each other on catapults 1 and 2, the ones on the front part of the deck. The sight was nolstaga-inducing. It had been a while since Blaze had seen it and in about a minute's time he was about to experience it himself.

'_All Panthers, Haunter, radio check.'_ Haunter's voice popped in through the separate radio channel for the squad.

'_Loud and clear.'_ Bullet.

'_Rog.' _Talon.

'Copy.' Blaze. He looked to his right to see Talon's F-35 beside him. The two were launching from cat 1 and 2, while he presumed the other pair would launch from catapults 3 and 4 which were further aft to the port side of the carrier. As the tractor pulled him out to the catapult, Blaze looked to the stern. His theory was correct, Haunter and Bullet were already arranged on the cats. The crew hooked up his aircraft. A humming started vibrating through the Hornet's hull. Resident energy from the catapult holding back the Hornet from jumping off the deck. Blaze checked his mirrors; the shield had deployed behind him, permitting him to push the engines to full power with burners. All the while the armament crew were fitting the weapon pylons with bombs, anti-ship missiles and AA missiles, the whole lot intended for some hell-bringing. After a couple of minutes the leading deck crewman gave a thumbs up to Blaze indicating that he was ready for launch. Next to him, Talon was thrown across the deck, the catapult firing and bringing the Lightning to full speed off the deck. Blaze breathed in, gave a salute to the bubble operator who operated the catapults.

As quickly as he had given the salute Blaze was thrown back in his seat by inertia as the catapult fired and the Hornet was sent down the deck roaring.

'Woo!' Blaze shouted to himself.

Panther Squadron assembled at a point a few kilometres ahead of the carrier at Angels 1; a kilometre above sea level. Joining them were the Super Hornets and Tomcats of Razor and Hammer Squadrons.

'_Formation is feet wet, burning to intercept.' _Haunter was the overall commander in the air and so took lead. Panther followed her in a diamond formation, Razor and Hammer formed an angled line on both sides. The roar of 22 aircraft on afterburners was deafening even with a helmet and earplugs on.

'_Copy that Panther. The group is currently steaming west, estimated time to visual ten minutes.' _

Blaze laid back in his seat and looked either side of the formation to see the various aircraft he was surrounded by.

At the eight-minute mark the formation dived from 1000 metres to barely 50. They went fast enough at that height to kick up water from the surface below.

'_All aircraft, switch to anti-surface. We'll hammer them as we pass over.'_ Haunter again came over radio. Everyone copied and cycled from mastersafe to GBU-12s, laser-guided or freefall 500lb bombs designed to destroy medium-armoured targets and buildings. Some switched to the AGM-84 Harpoon, an anti-ship missile.

Two minutes.

**Fleet Destroyer Fenris**

**Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group**

A console operator rested his head on a hand, bored. There was nothing out there for their carrier fleet to engage, all the drones they operated had destroyed the competition. The man would have fallen asleep were it not for a beeping sound in his headset. Just one beep. Then another. Steadily the beeps increased until it capped out at 22.

'Uh,' The man stuttered. 'Unknown fast-movers bearing 2-4-0 to 2-6-1, very close range.' An older man came over to the compass. He frowned. That frown turned into a face of horror as several red dots started beeping in the system.

'Vampire vampire vampire, several incoming anti-ship weapon-' Before the consoleman could finish a GBU-12 penetrated amidships and into the CIC, exploding. That explosion killed everyone in the room and shattered the structural integrity of the ship. Another two hit somewhere forward and exploded, holing the ship below the surface.

Fenris rapidly flooded and dipped underneath the surface. All hands lost.

Blaze armed his GBUs, intended for the carrier. Before the ship could go active with its air defence systems, he took aim for a point ahead of the superstructure and dropped a pair. They flew at supersonic speed, Blaze peeling upwards to avoid crashing into the carrier. As he looked back there were two orange explosions. One bomb had hit, deflected downwards into the hangar and exploded, taking out a hangar door on the starboard side. The second directly impacted the command sector of the bridge, blowing off much of the bridge's upper section and radars. Gatling gun fire chased Blaze as he climbed forcing the pilot to twist and roll downwards. The other jet pilots had also dropped part of their loads on the carrier and her escorting destroyers. The alpha volley instantly sunk three, crippled a fourth and caused significant damage to the Kitty Hawk. The fleet was caught completely by surprise.

Heading back down towards the carrier, Blaze let off his remaining four GBUs straight down into the flight deck. Striking like a hammer, those GBUs shattered the middle of the deck and hangar.

'Carrier's not gonna be launching any aircraft soon.' Blaze said over the net.

'_Good job. Razor Squad, form up, let's kill this carrier.' _While Razor Squad went to finish off the carrier, Blaze and the Panthers did a ring around the surviving destroyers, firing AGMs and GBUs at them. Explosions resulted, ships split in half and sunk. The carrier itself was listing heavily and flooding.

'_Panther 1, Razor 1, the carrier is dead in the water and sinking.'_

_'Leave it be. No point using more than we have to. Vulture, Panther 1, the strike group has been destroyed, advise for tasking, over.' _

It took a moment for their own carrier to respond. '_Panther, you have a single Su-30SM egressing on your location from the north-east. It's not responding to IFF, we need you to intercept._'

'_Copy, intercepting.'_

'The hell is a single Sukhoi doing all the way out here?' Blaze asked.

'_Dunno, let's find out.'_ Haunter answered. Himself curious, Blaze activated his afterburners and shot ahead of the formation. Sure enough his own radar soon picked up the aircraft; a lone Su-30.

'_Blaze, wait up.' _Talon called out to him. Blaze was well ahead of everyone else. He didn't slow down. The distance between him and the Sukhoi closed rapidly. He saw it in the distance. Black with red wingtips. He opened up a wideband transmission with the fighter.

'Unidentified aircraft, this is Panther 4 of the Osean Navy. Turn back or you will be shot down.' Sure enough he didn't get a reply even as the aircraft shot past him. Blaze saw the pilot. A male, and an old one. Once the Su-30 passed Blaze it tightly turned to get onto Blaze's six. The latter cursed. _Of course I fell for the classic trick, _he thought as he banked upwards and away. The Su-30 followed Blaze's maneuvers.

'Well,' Blaze started a normal conversation as if he weren't in a combative situation. 'If you would please follow me this way, this sitation will be sorted.' There was a light chuckle from the attacking pilot. On cue with the chuckle Blaze's radar warning receiver went off.


	5. Chapter 5 - Interdiction (Part II)

**/AN - As a note about naming conventions in the Strangereal universe, any Nimitz-class carriers I will refer to as the Hubert-class due to the fact that that's what they were called in Ace Combat 5. **

_So you're gonna play it that way. Alright. _

Blaze put his aircraft into the vertical. The Su-30 pilot followed him. After gaining a couple hundred metres of height Blaze cut his engines, rolled around and let the weight of the aircraft push its nose downwards. Now free-falling back towards the attacker, the 20mm Vulcan cannon of the Hornet threw out a burst of gunfire that hit the attacker's belly and wings. Several areas on the plane started smoking and catching fire. The attacker managed to pull out of the vertical and the cannon's path before his aircraft was completely destroyed. Blaze relit his engines and pulled back to a horizontal flight path. The Su-30 limped away in the direction that it came from. Before the aircraft went out of visual distance, its pilot said something over the wideband radio that chilled Blaze's blood.

'_The Demon himself still lives. How interesting.' _The voice was old, raspy.

Blaze banked back towards his approaching squadmates. 'Contact is damaged and leaving the AO.'

'_Leave him be. He's not gonna do much in that state.' _Bullet said, monotone and plain.

'_Vulture, this is Panther 1. Carrier fleet destroyed, approaching aircraft driven off, awaiting further orders over.' _

'_Panther 1, Vulture, return to ship._'

Blaze exhaled. He was worried. Somehow that pilot knew he was in action. Talon in her F-35 flew off Blaze's right wing. The latter looked over at his wingman- no, wingwoman. Talon saw the head movement. She unclipped her oxygen mask and smiled before putting it back on.

The landing was uneventful. Each squad was placed in a holding pattern until the carrier could get everyone on-board. Blaze was one of the last to land, his aircraft bouncing in place as it hit the flight deck and caught an arrestor cable. He was directed to the deck spot behind the ship's superstructure at the stern. From there he and the other three went to the ready bay to strip off flight equipment and change into their normal briefs; OD green one-pieces. Blaze took a seat, rubbed his face and kept his head down for a minute. Haunter and Bullet left to report to debriefing. Talon was about to leave when she noticed Blaze a little hung down. She raised an eyebrow.

'You look moody.' She said, sitting down across from him.

'I'm stuck in thought.' Alex replied, cracking his neck.

'What about?' Talon leaned forward, placed her chin on her hand. Part of her hair flowed down obscuring one side of her face.

Alex looked up. 'The Su-30 from before.'

'What about it? Just an average Sunday intercept trying to save its carrier.'

'It's a little more complicated than that. I've met that pilot before. Mihaly Shilage, one of the greatest Euresean aces to have ever flown.'

Talon nodded. 'You tagged him pretty good. Think he's going to be a problem later on?'

'Not the issue. Problem is he knows I'm here. And if he tells the greater part of the Erusean Armed Forces, I've suddenly put this carrier in a very grave position.'

'You're overthinking it Alex,' Talon stood up and twisted her torso. 'They're not gonna believe that the Razgriz is fighting in this war. Either way we need to go to debrief.'

Alex smiled and nodded, standing up. 'Lead the way.'

'_Mission success. You managed to sink an entire carrier strike group in a little under 20 minutes and drove off an unmarked Su-30. This paves the way for us to meet with the Kestral II and begin combat operations against the nation of Erusea.'_

'_Panther and Razor Squadrons, your squads will be contributing to this evening's air patrol.' _

'Alex, Talon, you two up for it?' Ashley asked the two pilots in the back of the room.

'Can't hurt to clean off some rust.' Blaze answered.

'Sure.'

Two men from Razor Squad walked over to the Panther end of the room. 'We'll go up with your pair.' The senior of them announced. Blaze didn't recognise either of them. His thoughts must have transmitted to them because the leader answered the question before he could ask it.

'You're Blaze?' He asked.

'The one and only.' Blaze replied.

'Tyler Keith, Razor squad lead.'

'Walter Atkins, Razor 5.'

'Alex Williams. Nice to meet you two.' Alex shook hands with both Razor flight members. 'We should kit up.'

The four walked together to the ready bay for the second time in one day.

'Tyler, your squad the guys in the Super Hornets?' Alex had asked. Hammer used Tomcats and he was fairly certain the fourth squad - _Hawk?_ \- flew Lightnings.

'Yep.' Tyler was dressing into his G-suit. 'Except for Atkins, crazy fucker flies an F-14A.' Atkins and Alex laughed.

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Atkins retorted.

Talon threw her hair over her shoulders to tie it up into a ponytail, smacking Blaze in the face with it. The latter shook his head to clear his eyes.

'Wouldn't short hair be a better alternative for a pilot?' Blaze slipped on his own helmet and clipped it to his chin.

'I was going to get a haircut the day this shit storm started, give me a break' was Talon's response. Everyone in the room laughed.

Fifteen minutes later and the four aircraft were off the deck and into the air. Combat air patrol, or CAP, was the action of flying around in circles for hours at a time to protect a certain zone or asset. Much of the routine of a Navy fighter pilot consisted of flying CAP from their carriers. Today it was flown by a Lightning, a Tomcat, a Super Hornet and a Legacy Hornet.

_AIRCRAFT:  
Lance/Razor 1: F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Talon/Panther 3: F-35C Lightning II_

_Blaze/Panther 4: F/A-18C Hornet_

_Luna/Razor 5: F-14A Tomcat_

Blaze checked his watch. _1230\. _The CAP was meant to be on for three hours which meant they wouldn't be landing until three in the afternoon. He laid back and tried to get comfortable. This was going to be a long day.

**Sand Island Air Force Base, western Osea **

**242nd Tactical Fighter Squadron**

On the other side of the planet, Major Hans Grimm was not a happy man. This could be seen from his barely withheld snarl as the orange-haired man navigated through whitewash hallways while buttoning up a flight suit.

'Of all the reserves they COULD have deployed, it had to be one on the opposite side of the country.' Grimm angrily said to himself, pushing open the door ahead of him with one hand. At that moment his face went from contained rage to neutral. The room was a conference room with tables, chairs and a front stage. Two senior officers were standing at parade rest on the stage, 40 odd men and women sat in the provided chairs. Many were confused as to why their acting commander had ordered them to assemble so quickly. Grimm was known for being a calm and relaxed officer.

'Evening folks.' Grimm said in a half-whisper as he entered the room. 'You're _probably _wondering why I've gotten you all to assemble here today. Two reasons. One, it's forty-plus degrees out today and the 308th have all of the airspace drills covered.' There was a general laughter from everyone in the room. That was good, it helped to lessen the tension. 'Second is a little more serious. I just got off the phone with the regional chief. There's a shortfall in aircraft and pilots in Erusea, so we're deploying.'

There was a mixed reaction. Some cheered, a couple didn't answer, and a few more recoiled. About as expected.

'We ship out at 1800 tonight, so get your kit ready for transport and assemble at aircraft by then. Plan is to IFR above Heirleirk and land at a Forward Air Base in the Scofields Plateau. Dismissed.'

The pilots stood up to leave. Grimm and the senior officers stayed around the stage area and waited for the others to exit. Once they did, the more senior of those two spoke up.

'I take it we drew the short straw?' Captain David Thule asked, taking off his baseball cap and rubbing his bald head.

Grimm nodded. 'The short straw and then some. Gonna be a jarring shift for the next few weeks.'

'Eruseans take pride in their fighter aces.' Thule.

'So did the Belkans and look where that got them.' Grimme exhaled and shook his head. 'I hope they're ready.'

'They will be sir. You taught them well.'

'Time will tell, captain. Time will tell.'

**Spring Sea, 1450 hours Local **

'_CAP Razor, this is AWACS Falcon. You have six large and fast radar contacts egressing towards the carrier approximately eighty miles to your north at Angels 4. Identify and engage if required.'_

'_Razor 1 reads, moving in place to intercept.' _Lance answered the call. The call alerted Blaze. Blaze flipped down his helmet visor and clipped the oxygen mask back on. Game time.

Flying in line formation, the four aircraft climbed rapidly to make it to the intercept height. Engines roared on afterburners. The squad were all moving at supersonic speeds. Initial contact was made in two minutes via radar.

'_My radar's lighting up like a Christmas tree. These things are definitely big.'_ Luna, Razor 5, noted. Despite being old, his Tomcat's AWG-9 radar could still pick things up from a significant distance. Talon lined up off Luna's left wing.

'_Very big. Those are Blackjacks.'_ Talon added to the info pool with her aircraft's newer and more advanced APG-81 array. Tu-160 bombers, Blaze deducted. If they were going in this direction they were probably armed with anti-ship missiles looking for carriers.

'_Woah!' _Talon exclaimed. '_Contacts doubled, they have escorts. F-4s.'_

'_I think it's fair to deduct that they're Erusean. Falcon, Razor 1, requesting permission to engage.' _

'_Granted, terminate all airborne targets._'

'_CAP, weapons free!' _Lance announced to the flight in case someone didn't hear. Blaze happily activated his radar, quickly got a lock and fired with his long-range AMRAAMs. The sleek missiles came off the rails of the other three and suddenly the sky was filled with death. The F-4 Phantoms detected the incoming wave and rabidly rolled and weaved to evade. The aircraft they were meant to be escorting were much larger and could not roll. All of the Tu-160s bar one were quickly blasted out of the air. The Phantoms were luckier, only losing one out of six to the barrage. Once the confusion had cleared for the Eruseans, those aircraft came back to their original course and went to intercept the Osean naval squad.

'Don't like to stand down do they?' Blaze asked rhetorically, all the while launching a missile at the remaining bomber which had stupidly decided not to withdraw. That firing gave away Blaze's position and the tacky pilot quickly heard the sharp chime of the incoming warning drilling into his head. Blaze traded altitude for speed by diving down to dodge, deploying flares behind him. The offending Phantom _also_ gave away his own position and was punished for it when a Phoenix missile from Luna's F-14 blew it out of the sky. Four left.

Talon and Lance zipped through the sky to close the distance. They went unnoticed, Blaze and Luna providing a distraction for them to slip past and punish the Phantoms at close-range. This worked, the attackers not realising that they themselves were being attacked until two on one flank were suddenly torn apart by cannon fire from a sneaky Lightning and Super Hornet. This left the remaining two caught between a long-ranged attacker that they couldn't fire back at and two at close-range that would probably tear them apart. Talon went on her way to do the latter by tailing one and sending a Sidewinder right up the poor sod's tailpipe. Lance did the same and swiftly broke off the wing of the last Phantom with cannon fire. In just under five minutes, twelve aircraft had been broken by four defenders.

'_This is Razor. Enemy bomber formation broken, returning to carrier for rearm.'_

'_Copy that Razor, CAP Hammer will be taking your place.' _

Blaze flipped his visor back up as he did a banking manuver to return to the _Vulture, _rubbed his eyes. A long day had resulted in quite some destruction to the Eruseans. _Maybe this war will be over soon, _Blaze thought. He smiled and continued to follow his flightmates back to the carrier. 


	6. Chapter 6 - The Archer and the Swordsman

This is a filler chapter as my assessment week is this week. Expect a return to regular uploads 8/12/2019.

OFS _Hubert, _Hubert-class aircraft carrier

Naval Station Saint Hewlett

'Fuck me, this carrier is ancient.' A naval pilot could be heard complaining, an entire line of them shuffling onto the decades-old supercarrier. Among the line of pilots, a force roughly 100 strong including backups, Commander Marcus Snow was at the lead. The shadow of the carrier imposed itself upon the pilots.

'90 thousand tons of steel. I'm surprised this one can even be brought back.' Snow commented on the _Hubert's_ condition. Indeed it was a miracle. The ship had been mothballed in the 90s and then turned into a museum following the Circum-Pacific War. Damn thing hadn't been at sea for 24 years, let alone seen combat. Snow smirked. There was no way in hell this was going to be a safe deployment. The pilots all filled in at an abandoned space in the carrier.

'Alright ladies!' Snow addressed them all. 'Find a rack and get some sleep. This is the last time you'll be getting rest for the next few months!' Typically for reservists there was no unified howl. Many of these men had been at war in the past and knew what the experience was going to be like.

A man with a clipboard, safety helmet and reflective vest approached Snow from a catwalk system. 'Commander Snow?' He asked. Snow nodded and was given that clipboard that the man was holding. It concerned aircraft deliveries to the carrier.

'This is the complete list. The last shipment should be arriving within the hour.'

'Excellent. Thank you Chief.' Snow was then left to read the list. There were many entries, some of them irrelevant to his fighter pilot wing. Generally speaking Naval Command hadn't cheaped out on a retired carrier. Many of the aircraft were modern and in good condition. F-35Cs, F/A-18Es and Fs, recently refurbished F/A-18Cs and F-14Ds. An excellent selection. Snow smiled and went to go report to the ship's captain.

Heirleirk Air Force Base

Southern Belka

Grimm saw the boom operator of the KC-135 in his own little compartment in the tanker's back-end as he stood off the boom to allow another of his squad to refuel. In front and to the sides of the tanker were the escorting aircraft of the 242nd, a 20-20 mix of EF-2000 Typhoons and F-15E Strike Eagles. The Archer himself flew a Typhoon.

'Refueling complete, moving on to Erusea.' Grimm reported to anyone who needed to hear it. From Heirleirk the second leg would take four hours.

Slowly but surely, the Razgriz were being mobilised.


	7. Chapter 7 - Vultures

Alex leaned on a rail on the catwalk system outside of the carrier. The sun was setting and a gentle cool breeze was blowing against the pilot.

'_Attention all hands. We will be linking up with the Kestral in 30 mikes.' _The 1MC system announced. Alex paid no mind to it. Above him a pair of F-35s launched from the bow of the ship into the sky. One of the bulkhead doors opened behind him. Alex looked to see a flash of dark green hair.

'Hey Talon.' Alex greeted the smiling woman. She had two cups of coffee in hand.

'Wondered where you went. Thought you'd need a coffee.' Talon answered, giving one of the cups to Alex. She stood next to him, resting her elbows on the rail of the catwalk. Alex looked at her when she was looking out to sea. He noticed something. A white lump of skin that protuded from halfway up her neck to a point that was hidden by her working uniform. A scar.

'Talon?' Alex asked.

'Hmm?'

'What happened to your neck?' He touched the top of the scar lightly with his thumb. Talon touched Alex's hand. It was rough but the movement was soft.

'That? Long story short I got attacked by a hawk during basic flight teacher at Heirleirk. It's where my callsign came from.'

'Jeez. Fair enough.' Alex withdrew his hand and took a sip of coffee. 'When did you join the Navy?'

'During the Circum-Pacific War, but I didn't commission until after the war ended. Sort of stayed in since then and now here I am.'

Before Alex could ask anything else the general quarters alarm started blaring. '_General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations!'_ Alex and Talon dropped their cups and sprinted for the pilot ready room. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Behind them the carrier's fore starboard side Sea Sparrow launcher fired a missile. At the same time the Phalanx CIWS mounts on that side of the ship fired. In the distance there was a flash and an explosion.

In the ready room Bullet, Haunter and the rest of the pilots complement were dressing up as quick as humanly possible. Blaze and Talon burst in not long after the quickest pilots went for their aircraft. Luckily for the pair their kit had been pulled out in preparation, allowing a quick setup. In less than three minutes Panther Squadron were in the hangar going for their aircraft.

'The fuck is going on?!' Blaze shouted while sprinting.

'No idea!' Haunter shouted back.

The deck crew pulled the aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck. _Vulture's _self-defense weapons were blazing, gatling gun fire and missiles shooting out in every direction. Above in the skies, a multitude of aircraft were duking it out; Osean F-35s, F/A-18s and F-14Ds, Erusean MiG-29s and Su-27s. The flight deck was congested by the amount of air traffic on it but shortly Panther Squad found itself in the air for the third time that day.

'_Command, Panther 1, what the fuck is going on?' _

'_The Eruseans have launched a mass strike on the carrier group, defend the fleet!' _

_They're out for blood,_ Blaze thought in the cockpit of his F/A-18C as he raised his gear. Almost straight off the bat he downed a MIG with his cannon sending it splashing down into the ocean. His sensors were indicating that there were incoming strike aircraft. Blaze punched his engines to afterburner to get enough speed and altitude for the intercept. A friendly F-14 formed up on Blaze's left. Luna.

'_Let's hit those bombers.' _Luna said.

_AIRCRAFT:_

_Haunter/Panther 1: F-35C Lightning II_

_Bullet/Panther 2: F-35C Lightning II_

_Talon/Panther 3: F-35C Lightning II_

_Blaze/Panther 4: F/A-18C Hornet_

As soon as Blaze got a lock on target he fired an AMRAAM at it, splitting an A-6 Intruder in half. Luna used Phoenix missiles to rail bombers that were further out. Blaze kept firing the AMRAAMs he had to chip away at the bombers and strike aircraft. The escorts quickly found this out and went after the two interceptors.

'Flankers approaching, breaking left.' Blaze said to Luna, rolling left to intercept an Su-27 that was coming on his side. The Flanker fired a burst of 23mm cannon fire which Blaze avoided by rolling, firing a Sidewinder and hitting the Flanker in the nose as he passed by. Opposite of him Luna straight up tore open his approaching interceptor with a well-placed Sidewinder.

Not too far away, Talon went after escort fighters with her missiles, the F-35C lacking an internal cannon. Three MiG-29 Fulcrums formed up above and behind her. She saw this and did an airbrake, losing enough speed to get behind the more agile fighter. Their leader saw and tried to do the Cobra but was smashed in the middle by a Sidewinder and turnt into a fireball. The second was too slow to react to the Lightning behind it and suffered the same fate. The third was quicker on the draw and manuerved to the left to get out of the Sidewinder's seeker cone. The gambit failed, Talon looking at the Fulcrum through her HMD and leasing off a missile. The X-model of the Sidewinder could be fired at targets that were practically behind its owner. A slight incline was no issue, a third fireball resulting. Without escorts to worry about, AMRAAMs from Talon's internal bay found their way into the fronts of the now helpless Tu-95s. More fireballs to look at. However, her RWR started going off forcing Talon to interrupt her spree on the bombers to evade. She didn't see the offending target. _Where the fu-_

Tracers flew over her wing. In a moment of adrenaline Talon rolled upside down, upright again and pulled up. Evidently the person trying to hit her was behind, not a good thing. The interceptor was in an Su-30SM painted black with red wingtips. Talon recognised the aircraft as the one who had attempted to intercept the fighters from earlier today. _Mihaly. _Knowing that she was in trouble, Talon made every effort to get out of the gunsights of the Flanker, all to nought. She was in an aircraft that was outclassed and against one of the world's best aces.

'Need a hand, I'm being chased by a black aircraft!' She pleaded to anyone willing to come help her. Help soon came in the form of an F-15C. Talon didn't recognise the aircraft's markings nor understand why it was out at sea in a carrier environment.

'_On your tail, keep him straight._' The Eagle's pilot calmly responded. A male. The aircraft had black wings and light grey everywhere else. Talon flew in a straight line for an unnervingly long period of time with her RWR going off, waiting for a missile at any moment to quickly and painlessly knock her out of the sky into the water. That never came and the RWR stopped pinging. Talon looked behind her. The two aircraft were somewhere else, presumably to dogfight each other. With the interceptor gone she pulled out of the line and flew somewhere else to shoot down more aircraft.

Blaze dived from above onto an unsuspecting Tu-95, lancing through its midsection with cannon fire and missiles. The aircraft fell apart. A MiG-29 attempted to avenge the bomber and found itself getting smashed in the intakes by a missile before it could fire one of its own. The same happened to another Fulcrum that passed by to fight a _Kestral_ F-35. The airspace was simply chaos; the _Vulture _and her escort destroyers were throwing up all kinds of AA fire to counter the incoming missiles and bombs while fighters from two carriers were up in the air trying to counter both Erusean fighters and bomber aircraft. In the middle of it all, two particular aircraft caught Blaze's attention. The first was a black Su-30; that was Mihaly. The second was an F-15C. That paint job. Black wings, grey body, no tail markings. _Fancy to see you here old man,_ Blaze thought. The Eagle was in a dogfight with Mihaly, and evidently winning. The latter's aircraft was smoking from the engine bay, only one of the two lit.

'Unidentified F-15, this is Blaze, callsign and intention.' Blaze reached out to the Eagle. The response was almost instant.

'_Galm 1, callsign Cipher. Here to protect the carrier OFS Vulture.'_

Blaze smiled to himself. 'Copy, Galm 1, welcome to the fleet.'

'_Happy to be here, Razgriz.'_

While Galm made maneuvers to combat Mihaly, Blaze went for the bombers. No matter how many he and the other pilots shot down, there seemed an endless amount to add to the assault. They _really _wanted the _Vulture _sunk and its pilots gone. A far way out from the carrier, Haunter and Bullet were intercepting more of the bombers from their source. The mix of Tu-95s and Su-27s didn't stand a chance against opponents that they couldn't see or fire back at, resulting in many losses on their part. Not a single aircraft would make it through their wall. This left only the remaining attackers around the carrier to counter.

Luna, Razor's 5th man, found himself chasing down electronic warfare aircraft, EA-6B Prowlers. Their jamming systems were a hindrance to the operation of the escort vessel's AA systems. Being a larger version of the already sluggish A-6, keeping up with and shooting them down was no challenge. He shot down a couple with AMRAAMs at closer-than-usual range, used a Sidewinder on a third and the fourth and final Prowler suffered the fate of the 20mm cannon. Luna looked around himself, saw that all other available targets were already being chased by the other fighters. His own squadron, Razor, all bunched up on one MiG-29 and blew it out of the air. Elsewhere other Osean aircraft were doing the same to the remaining Eruseans as they attempted to escape the wrath of a vengeful carrier strike group.

'_All hostile aircraft have either retreated or been shot down._' Blaze said over the universal net. Hell, even Mihaly in his Su-30 had retreated. What had been twenty minutes of pure chaos had been repelled.

'_Alright. All aircraft, return to ship for rearmament. We're after that base._' _Vulture's_ CAG, Commander Brian Turnell, said to all pilots from both his ship and _Kestral._

Blaze exhaled. Four flight operations in two days, about to roll into a fifth.


	8. Chapter 8 - Shootdown

**1 Hour Later**

If there were any trace of sun left an hour ago, it was gone now. The sky was a blueish black, distance stars appearing as white or yellow dots. Under a moonless night, grey aircraft made their way for the Erusean coast. Blaze and Panther Squad were part of the strike detachment.

_May 17, 2019, 1920 Hours_

_Operation Sleeping Lion_

_Chopinberg region, Usea _

'_The Eruseans have been staging attacks on our carriers from an old airbase in the centre of the Chopinburg region. Now that we know where the base is, a joint strike force consisting of aircraft from the Vulture, Kestral and land-based Air Force aircraft will strike at the field to disable it and any grounded aircraft. The 508th and 142nd Tactical Fighter Squadrons will be assisting us tonight.'_

There were a lot of aircraft in the detachment. All four of the _Vulture's _fighter squads were airborne - Panther, Razor, Hammer and Hawk - along most of the _Kestral's_ fighters; F-35s, F/A-18Es and Fs, F-14Ds. Escorting them were two squads of Air Force aircraft, Mage and Terminator. They consisted of F-16s and F-15s. In total, 68 fighters and attackers. The entire formation flew at subsonic speeds about 500 metres above sea level. EMCOM Alpha all the way to the airfield. Roughly in the middle of the formation, Blaze rubbed his eyes and dropped the visor on his helmet. To one side of him flew a formation of F-16s. _Mage Squad,_ Blaze deducted by the tail markings and number. The one closest to him, even a blind person would be able to read the name under the cockpit canopy. Trigger. There were bullet marks underneath the name, ten of them. The pilot was a qualified ace twice over if the markings were to be believed._ Impressive. _Lush rainforest stretched out for many kilometres below the squadron. Now feet dry, a message for all aircraft was transmitted from a Hawkeye AWACS some distance back with the carriers.

'_Formation, turn to heading 040. The target is 50 kilometres inland and is lightly protected by mobile SAM and AAA batteries.'_

The formation turned north-east to face the airfield. At cruise speed, that distance could be covered in three minutes.

'_Break EMCOM. Formation, you are clear to engage.'_

Blaze could almost hear all the pilots switching from master-safe to bombs. Whoever was on the ground was about to have a very bad day. Below them, the jungle opened out onto a clearing focused around the target airfield and a large river. A handful of Tu-95 bombers were at open-air repair stations. Those bombers were the first thing to feel the wrath of the Osean fighters as 500lb iron bombs smacked into them. In a bright series of flashes and dust, most hangars, radars, anti-aircraft batteries and storage depots went up in flames. Soon after air-raid sirens started blaring.

'_Enemy aircraft! Get the Alert 5 interceptors in the air!'_ An officer from the base could be heard on radio. Tracer fire from the ground shot up into the sky courtesy of some ZSUs, lacing into a Tomcat and setting it on fire.

'_Shit. Luna, mayday mayday mayday!'_ Lieutenant Atkins, Razor 5, was the aircraft that got hit. Blaze banked and looked outwards to see the F-14A in a death spiral heading towards the ground. The canopy flew off followed by a single ejector seat. _Did he fly without a back-seater?_

'His parachute's open. Pilot is safe.' Blaze said over net. SAR bird would have to come for him later, but for now he focused himself on the airfield. A hangar was opening to reveal the pair of Su-27s hidden inside it. Before either could get up to speed and in the air, both were shattered by Blaze dropping a Mark-82 Snakeeye bomb in between them. The Hornet pilot flew over a smoking air traffic control tower, climbing up at a shallow angle to avoid hitting the remains. At the zenith of that climb, Blaze saw a green tracer out of the corner of his eye but was too late to react to a banging noise somewhere off behind and to his right. Instantly after there was a shredding noise and a series of pops followed by the Hornet's airframe shaking violently. Blaze cursed, rolling and banking away to avoid the remainder of gunfire from whatever was lighting him up. His maneuvers didn't work, another burst of gunfire ripping off his starboard wing. The aircraft started to spiral out of control with only two out of four control surfaces remaining. Without any other options to stay alive with the aircraft, Blaze keyed his radio to emergency mode.

'Panther 4, going down!' Without delay after the line, Blaze twisted the ejection handle and pulled it. Explosive bolts holding down the canopy exploded, sending it off. The rocket in the ejection seat fired and pushed the seat out with Blaze attached to it. His vision went grey extremely quickly, and then there was darkness.

'Fuck me sideways, take out that anti-air!' Lance almost shouted over a live net. One of his own was down and Blaze, the best pilot they had, was also down. The anger inside him was starting to surface, _not_ a good thing for a pilot leader. Banking off and arming some radar-seeking AGM-88 HARMs, Lance took it upon himself to knock out the particular battery that had been responsible for their incurred losses. The HARM came off its missile pylon and went hunting for its target, a ZSU-23-4 Shilka. Knowing that it was being hunted, the Shilka turned off its radar. It didn't help, the HARM locking onto last known point of contact and seeking for that. The 66kg fragmentation warhead turned the tracked AAA into piecemeal. Lance's RWR started beeping as he flew over the now-flaming ZSU, but that beeping was cut off when its source was destroyed by one of the other anti-ground equipped aircraft.

'_Vulture,_ Razor Lead, get a SAR bird in the air. We've got two pilots down.'

'_Unable at this time, Razor. One of the Arsenal Birds is approaching the region. They'll have to wait on the ground until a ground unit can pick them up.'_

'Fuck!' Lance swore to himself quietly. 'Luna and Blaze, this is Lance. If you can hear me, lay low and try to head for friendly territory.'


	9. Chapter 9 - On The Ground

Luna grunted as he undid the slots for his parachute and slid off his pilot helmet. Checked over himself. Uninjured for now, but Erusean soldiers would be after him soon enough. Luna scanned around. No-one. Without a current threat, he went for the pilot seat and specifically a box located in the back of it. It had slots that held it to the seat that Luna undid, releasing the box with a dull clang against the ground. He opened the lid on it to reveal the contents inside. Four primary things; a HK-416 carbine with ammo, a bulletproof plate carrier, survival kit and a small backpack. Luna wasted little time putting the gear on and moving. Not a great distance away, a second parachute was falling from the sky. _Someone else was down as well._

Alex woke up soon after hitting the ground. His face was in the dirt, the ejector seat resting on a leg. Alex tried moving. He shouted in pain, the seat pinning the lower half of his leg to the ground. Biting his lip, Alex pushed the seat over using his free leg. The pain relieved as his pinned leg didn't have to suffer from 60kg of metal resting on top of it. Before Alex could stand up however, a Erusean soldier kicked him in the back of the head, cracking his visor. Unfazed, Alex swipped the legs out from underneath the soldier while pushing himself up. Once on his feet, Alex drew his Beretta M9 sidearm on the soldier still on the ground. The latter looked up at him, hand on the barrel of his own rifle.

'Drop it.' Alex ordered him. The soldier let go of the rifle and slowly put his hands up. Quick as a viper, one of his hands went for a holstered pistol. Alex was quicker on the draw and shot the soldier in the head, killing him instantly. Dust kicked up from a high-powered rifle shot that impacted the dirt next to him. Another soldier had come out. Alex raised his M9 higher and fired, catching the man square in the middle of the chest and knocking him down. A third and fourth soldier were escorting the second. Alex fired and tagged the third but missed the fourth. He was punished for the miss, a rifle round slamming into his lower left abdomen. Alex shouted in pain, falling to one knee and dumping the mag at the three people firing at him. They fell, all hit in various places. The slide on the M9 locked back with an empty mag. Confident that his attackers were down, Alex swapped the empty mag for a fresh one. He also got rid of the pilot helmet. It wasn't going to be of any use with a cracked visor and no night vision. Before he left the helmet behind however, he stripped the radio headset out of it and placed it over his shoulders. The communication equipment was probably going to be useful.

Bleeding from the stomach, Alex now made for the nearest pile of cover; a small group of trees. He limped all the way. The seat had caused some damage to his leg. Explosions rang out in the distance. Fire had found its way into the fuel and ammo depots. After a minute of slow-walking, Alex leaped one final step into the safety of cover and concealment. The trees were a ring arranged in the pattern of an oval around lush green grass. The area was large for three men to comfortably rest inside. The canopy overhead provided shelter from the sun. Alex landed on his hip, grunting from pain inflicted by the bullet wound. Blood soaked the uniform around the wound. Propping himself up against the trees, Alex placed a hand over the entrance.

'_Anyone on the ground, this is Luna, can you hear me?_' A voice from the headset distracted Alex from his brief moment of rest. He hit the transmit button.

'Luna, Blaze, I hear ya.'

'_You down as well?_'

'Yep.'

'_Shit. Where are you?'_

Alex looked about himself in reference to the airfield. Most of the area was flat save for a hill to the west on the runway.

'I'm in a small grouping of trees about 800 metres east of the primary runway.'

'_The ring of trees? I can see it.'_

'That's me.'

'_Rog, coming to you. Keep your head down._'

'Copy.' Alex laid back some more, rested his head against the tree. The bloodflow from his gut was slowing down. Wound was clotting, surprisingly quickly despite the size of the wound. He started feeling sleepy. _Just a minute._

A few minutes later, Luna brushed away a branch of the tree ring with his 416. Alex was sleeping against the end opposite from him. Rolling his eyes, Luna climbed in and gave a slap to the sleeping ace's face. 'Wake up jackass.' Alex pushed away but stopped when he saw who it was. 'Oh, it's you.' Alex noted, sitting up.

'You hit?' Luna pointed at Alex's stomach. Alex nodded.

'Superficial at worst. Through and through.'

'Still gonna patch it. Stay still.' Luna said, putting down his rifle and drawing the first aid kit that he had on him. Inside that kit was a stitching kit, antibiotics, all sorts of bandages and cutting tools. A proper set. Luna cracked open a liquid antibiotic bottle and poured some of it into the wound. Alex tightened up and grunted as it killed the germs that were inside the wound. The pain quickly subsided as Luna unbuttoned the lower half of Alex's flight suit to access the wound site. The entrance wound was small enough for stitches. Luna got out a pair of scissors and a needle with thread attached. 'Be warned, this might sting a little.'

Luna drove the thread through the edges of the wound, drawing the skin around it together. Alex held up his uniform so it wouldn't fall onto Luna's work.

'You a doctor?' Alex asked half-jokingly.

Luna scoffed. 'Marines. I was a PJ before becoming a pilot.'

'Pararescue?' Alex was surprised upon learning this.

'Did 16 years in the role, straight out of high school. Deployed to Belka, Erusea, Yuktobania, hell, I even did medic shit in the Arctic a year before transferring to aviation.'

'Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Why'd you become a fighter pilot?'

'Marine Air Arm had a shortage of pilots about 2011. They needed experienced people in the role, so I came over. Became an officer in the meantime.' Luna finished stitching up the entry wound. 'Turn around, exit wound's on your back. A minute of silence and some antibiotics later and Alex was stitched up sufficiently.

'Move or stay?' Alex asked, laying down on his side.

'If I know the pilots on the _Vulture, _they'll be coming back by tomorrow morning. Stay here.' Luna shrugged off his bag, opened it to pull out a pair of water bottles. He passed one to Alex. 'And drink up. Dehydration is a bitch.'

**OFS **_**Vulture**__**II**_

Panther and Razor Squads were both assembled in the briefing room wearing full pilot gear. None of the eight pilots between both squads had stripped down. They wanted to go back out and recover their downed squadmates. The carrier wing commander, Turnell, was with them alongside members from the carrier Search And Rescue unit.

'Panther 4 and Razor 5's aircraft emergency transponders are emitting from roughly the same location north of the airfield.' Turnell was reading out his basic plan. 'Your attack crippled everything on that base, but one of the Arsenal Birds is on alert in the region. That thing carries a lot of fucking drones.'

'It's a risk we're willing to take sir.' Ashley, Haunter, answered knowing the threat that an Arsenal Bird entailed. The Panthers nodded in agreement.

'I concur.' Keith, Lance, also agreed with the Panthers. His own Razors were also nodding in agreement.

'If you guys think you can handle it without getting yourselves killed, I'll permit the rescue. Sergeant?'

A bearded man stood forward from the SAR crew. Judging by his age and stature, he was the leader of them.

'We need speed in and out, so my guys will be flying an MV-22. Fly along the strike route you took before, cover us from any ground units and fighters in the area. We'll pick up your guys and return them to the carrier. Our callsign will be Metal.' The sergeant was calm and confident in spite of the situation and the stress that was emitting from the pilots.

'Very well. Commander?' Ashley looked at Turnell.

'Your shit should be prepped on the deck. Go get our guys.'

**Chopinburg**

'Hey Alex?' Luna.

'Waddup.'

'The SOLG. Your Razgriz destroyed it, and then just disappeared. What happened to the others?'

Alex chuckled. 'Not as much as disappeared, we went out of common view. Half of us still serve in the Armed Forces.'

'That didn't answer my question.'

'In reverse order. Razgriz 4, Archer, he's still in the Air Force. XO of the 242nd Tactical Fighter Squadron last I checked. Razgriz 3, Swordsman. Retired from active duty and became a member of a sea salvage company. He's still in the reserves, so something tells me he's somewhere out there. Razgriz 2, Edge. She always wanted to become an astronaut.'

'I think I remember her. Kei?'

'Yeah. You two met?'

'Glubina, Sea Goblin rescued her. I was part of the other CSAR crew.'

'Go figure. I haven't talked to Kei in a while, not since she joined the Pilgrim 1 mission. Pretty sure she's in orbit above Osea as we speak. And then myself. I retired completely. Became an avionics engineer for aircraft, found myself working with the Navy. Funnily enough that was two days ago. Now I'm back into the thick of things.'

'Did you ever miss being a pilot?'

'For a little while after I left, not really. Being at peace was good enough for me. But after a year or two, I started to miss the skies. Honestly, don't know what to think of the situation I'm in. I vowed never to kill again. We all did. But fast forward ten years and look where we are.'

'I get where you're coming from. Always gonna be that one person who fuckin' incites war.'

'Mmm. Come to think of it, Belka incited three wars between our countries.'

'Our countries?'

'I was born in Belka. And I'm assuming you're a native Osean?'

'Correct. That war back in 1905, the Belkan War and the Circum-Pacific?'

'Yep. What are the bets that a Belkan is behind this one?'

'Wouldn't surprise me. I guess we'll find out given time.'


	10. Random Lore Bits

**To clear up any confusion and as a general footnote, decided to make this lorepage for the individual members and assets I am using for this FanFic. Enjoy.**

**General Lore**

OFS _Vulture II - Vulture-_class (Gerald R. Ford-class) advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Commissioned early in 2019, _Vulture _is the flagship of the Osean Navy 1st Fleet and the newest aircraft carrier to be brought into the Navy. She is commanded by Rear Admiral Tahir Logan.

Panther Squad/VFA-051 - Fighter attack squadron of the Navy. Led by Lieutenant-Commander Ashley _Haunter _North and assigned to the _Vulture II. _The squad only has three members owing to many former members of the squad running an illegal drug-running operation which left Ashley and Marcus _Bullet_ North the only original members of the team. Panther is known for using the F-35C.

Razor Squad/VFA-198 - Fighter attack squadron of the Navy. Led by Commander Tyler _Lance _Keith and originally assigned as ground-based fighters but were transferred to the _Vulture_ following the attack on Oured. Primarily flies the F/A-18E but Lieutenant Walter _Luna_ Atkins flies an outdated F-14A.

Alex Williams - Callsign _Blaze._ Age 32, born in a remote winter town in Belka. His family moved to Osea at a young age. Father was a pilot for the Belkan Air Force which later inspired him to become a pilot shortly before the Circum-Pacific War. Headstrong but confident and friendly.

**Panther Squad Members**

LCDR Ashley North - Callsign _Haunter. _Age 26, born in November City. Ashley entered the Navy in 2012, first as an E-2 Hawkeye pilot and later as a fighter pilot. Her stern upbringing helps her to remain calm in chaotic situations but this does alienated her from most other people in social situations save her squadron. Ashley was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in late 2018 after the drug operation was busted in her squad. Younger sister of Marcus.

LT Marcus North - Callsign _Bullet_. Age 28, born in November City. Marcus followed her sister into the Navy in 2012, first as a helicopter pilot and later as a fighter pilot. Marcus grew up under a stern upbringing same as Ashley. He exhibits the same traits as a result but also maintains the same downsides. Older brother of Ashley.

LCDR Zoe Davis - Callsign _Talon._ Age 32, born in Oured. Her two younger brothers were killed by a chemical attack during the Circum-Pacific War which enraged her to become a pilot, however she did not finish training until after the war had ended. Earned her callsign after a hawk ripped open her neck during basic training. Rarely for a human, Zoe's hair is dark green.

**Significant Razor Squad Members**

CDR Tyler Keith - Callsign _Lance. _Age 35, born at Saint Hewlett. Joined the Navy shortly before the Circum-Pacific War and was present for many significant battles, including the defense of Sand Island and the Battle of Sudernor at the war's end. Combines calmness and confidence with being an all-around decent man to have a beer with.

CPT Walter Atkins - Callsign _Luna. _Age 45, born in a small town in Cape Landers. Joined the Marine Corps as a Special Forces pararescue medic in 1994, seeing action in the Belkan War. He was still active-duty in the Circum-Pacific War, seeing combat from the airfields of Osea to the dunes of the Jilachi Desert to the frozen planes of ice once again in Belka. Transferred to the pilots in 2011 due to a shortage of Marines and was assigned to Razor Squad.


	11. Chapter 10 - A Close Pickup

**Scofields Plateau**

**242nd Tactical Fighter Squadron**

Yawning, Grimm pushed open the canopy of his EF-2000 and was starting to get out when a group of ground crew and officers ran up to the aircraft. Grimm stopped moving. Something was up.

'Major, we need you and your pilots back in the air!' The leading officer shouted out. Grimm didn't have to be told twice, stepping back up the ladder into the cockpit and closing the canopy above him. Luckily the radio was still alive with the aircraft idled.

'Anyone still in their planes, stay in and ready for combat. We've got trouble.' The major said, strapping in. Only two other aircraft heard the call, everyone else had already disembarked and gone to the crew waiting room. An indicator on the ground gave Grimm the order to hold, presumably to let the others arm and refuel the Typhoon. This didn't take long, only five or so minutes. Once complete Grimm started the engines, allowing power to all of his 70 or so computer systems. The primary HUD showed up which showed him what weapons he had been armed with. AMRAAMs, Sidewinders and Brimstone anti-ground rockets. _Expecting ground contact, _Grimm thought as he readied engines and pulled forward under the instructions of the guiding ground crewman. The route went straight to the airfield.

'_Titan Squad, clear to launch._' The air traffic control permitted the three aircraft assembled - two EF-2000s and an F-15E - to boost engines and lift off. The three aircraft rolled down the improvised airstrip in tandem, smoke from the action earlier in the day still evident even in the moonless dark. In a roar of engine noise and jetwash they all rose and flew off towards the Chopinburg region.

_May 18th, 2019, 0300 Hours_

_Operation Devil Dog _

_Chopinburg region, Usea_

'_Major, a few hours ago two fighters from the aircraft carrier Vulture II were shot down over an airfield in the Chopinburg area. A CSAR crew from the Vulture is coming in to recover them but we need fighters over the area to secure air superiority for the bird to land and pick them up. Keep an eye over that airspace.'_

'Archer copies. Titan, head bearing 235 at 600 knots.'

'_Moving._' Captain Thule, Titan 2, noted. The third was silent. After about a minute of flight time, a fourth pilot joined the formation.

'_Titan Squad, this is Trigger, requesting to assist_.' An F-16 formed up to their left alongside the F-15.

'Granted. Follow us through.'

**Meanwhile**

The three pilots of Panther Squad escorted an MV-22 Osprey VTOL over the ocean. A small distance in front of the F-35s was the now five-man squad of F/A-18Es flown by Razor Squad. Eight fighters and a single combat search and rescue aircraft going in to what had proven to be a hornet's nest. Lance, eyes focused on his dashboard, noted some red dots moving on his tactical map display.

'_Hit the deck. Four-man flight of Eruseans buzzing along the coast._' The nine aircraft dived from 500 metres to just over 20. Lance kept checking his display. Eventually the enemy fighters turned inland, presumably going back to their airfield.

'_Razor 1, AWACS Dreadnought. You'll be receiving fighter support from the 242nd. Callsign Titan. They should arrive around the same time you do_.' The operator of the E-2 voiced out the support. Lance didn't reply directly to the AWACS. 'Air Force sent some of their fighters to help. We've still got 20 minutes for approach, so keep your eyes out.'

To the left of the Osprey, Talon stared out of the canopy of the F-35. Aside from the Osean aircraft, the skies were empty and dark. No clouds, no moon, no rain, no anything. Void. Hell, communication between the Panthers was non-existent. The Lieutenant-Commander rubbed her eyes and flipped down the HMD of her helmet. '_Ten minutes to target.'_ Lance said from the lead.

**Chopinburg**

Blaze and Luna sat in the tree ring. The former was asleep, resting off his wounds. Luna was more alert, looking into the distance for any soldiers or vehicles that came close. So far none had decided to check the ring of trees that could have obviously hidden a pair of downed pilots. Hell, everything that Luna heard was moving west deeper into occupied territory and away from the airfield. The Marine captain checked the ammunition in the magazine of his HK416. 30 rounds, he hadn't used any yet and he hoped he wouldn't have to before rescue came. Opposite from Luna, Blaze stirred from his sleep. Sat up and scanned the area.

'Still alive?' The Air Force pilot asked jokingly.

'And still in the shit-' Before Luna could reply with his answer, Blaze raised a hand to his headset and motioned to Luna to be quiet for a second. Luna frowned.

'Grimm?' Blaze said to himself. Luna put his own headset on and switched to the emergency radio band. Sure enough there was a voice on the other end.

'_Pilots downed in the Chopinburg area, this is Titan 1 of the Osean Air Force. Do you hear me?' _The voice sounded young but experienced.

'Is that you, Archer?' Blaze answered the call.

There was silence on the other end of the radio for a moment. '_Oh hey Captain. What's the situation on the ground?'_

'Me and another Navy guy, no enemy air and a lot of hostile ground units.'

'_Copy. We're overhead in two, the rescue guys should be here in five.' _

'Too easy. We'll stay here until SAR gets here.'

'_Getting locks on several light armoured vehicles on the airfield.' _Trigger said with a monotone voice.

Grimm checked his own radar. Indeed there were about a dozen trucks and APCs. 'Engage.' Formed up in a line, a variety of JSOW, Brimstone and Maverick ground attack missiles fired off missile pylons and out towards the assembled vehicle formation. The latter two missile types hit first, causing a sequence of explosions to rumble across the airfield, sending shards of metal and pieces of now-shattered vehicles to fly in every direction. The JSOW gliders followed a few seconds later as the four aircraft zoomed over. Bigger explosions shook the earth underneath and ruined more vehicles. The single strike had crippled more than half of the remaining Erusean force on the ground.

'_Titan 1, Razor 1, why am I seeing more fire on the airfield?'_ Lance called out to the Typhoon pilot.

'Enemy tanks, Commander' was Grimm's response. Lance chuckled audibly.

'_SAR crew is a couple of minutes away. Hold off the ground, we'll hold off the air. Razor, maintain formation west.'_

Luna ducked down a little when the AGMs hit and destroyed something on the airfield. Two Typhoons, an F-15 and an F-16 flew over followed by another series of explosions. 'Talk about close air support.'

'_Blaze, Luna, this is your rescue team Metal. We're about a minute out, some indicators would be nice.'_ An older man transmitted over the net. This man also sounded experienced.

'Metal, check for an IR beacon and blue smoke east of the airfield.' Luna pulled the pin out of a smoke grenade and pegged it out of the tree ring. Blaze did the same with an IR grenade which emitted bright pulses of light in the IR spectrum. The smoke grenade opened and although the two pilots couldn't see it the IR beacon was also pulsing.

'Ah, haven't we just given away our-' The sudden crack and pops of bullets zipping past their heads and splintering wood cut off Blaze before he could finish what he was saying. Luna ducked behind a tree and waited for the burst to stop. When it did, the Marine went into a low stance with his HK416 raised and fired a pair of suppressed shots. In the distance there was a shout. Luna had hit someone. He swiveled to another target and let off another shot, again hitting his target. Blaze got up and started unloading with his M9. Less experienced with firearms, Blaze didn't actually hit anything but did force a few riflemen to take cover behind rocks and hide in areas that they couldn't be seen from. The noise of turbofans roared overhead. The two looked up. In the darkness the light of three single afterburners could be seen. F-35s. _Panther Squad_. One of them must have dropped a bomb because after they passed over a flash, noise and bang destroyed something with more flames appearing. Once the noise of the bomb ended another aircraft could be heard behind them. This wasn't a jet however, it had propellers.

'_Beacon seen, Metal moving to land. Keep on your toes.' _The Osprey hovered overhead. Despite not having jets, the glow of engine exhaust was still visible. The engine noise was also loud, especially because it was right above two people without earplugs. Sparks pinged off the hull and wings of the bird. Luna couldn't see who was shooting at it and so didn't return fire. The Osprey did however, a chin-mounted minigun ripping away at the infantry on the ground before the aircraft landed about ten metres ahead of the tree ring. The rear cargo bay door opened and instantly a team of five soldiers, all fully equipped, ran out. Four took a defensive position around the sides and fired at anyone they could see. The fifth sprinted for the tree ring where Luna and Blaze sat.

'Osean Navy!' The man was shouting. 'You two able to move?'

'Yes!' Both the pilots answered.

'Get on and let's get out of here!' Luna climbed out of the ring with rifle in hand. Blaze quickly followed Luna but failed on his first attempt with a damaged leg. The yelling soldier slung his rifle and helped drag the black-haired man out. Out of the ring, Blaze was now helped along in a soldier's carry towards the Osprey. Luna was along them, suppressing Eruseans with automatic fire from his rifle. Luna's first mag ran out forcing the man to quickly reload and rack the HK. Before any more shots could be fired from the Marine, both pilots were sat on seats inside the cargo bay. A sergeant rushed over to the wounded Blaze and quickly did a checkup on all of his wounds. Outside, the four escorts formed up and got into the aircraft. After a quick hand signal, the door came up and the engines spooled to full power, lifting the AV-22 into the air. Cannon fire from the nose-mounted minigun continued from before, smashing soldiers into pulp.

'Pilots retrieved, Metal away.' The pilot of the aircraft turned on the spot and placed the rotors into plane position gradually giving the plane more forward speed to avoid heavier guns held by the remaining armed vehicles. The two Air Force Typhoons formed up on the Osprey's sides, followed shortly by Panther's F-35s and then the F-15 and F-16 pair.

'_Metal, we'll escort you out to sea then return to our airfield.'_ Grimm said from the port rear end. Blaze looked out the window beside his head. He saw Grimm's pilot helmet with a bow and arrow on the side of it. Grimm saw Blaze through the porthole. He flipped up his visor and waved. Blaze waved in turn. '_And make sure you get our guys back to safety.'_

'Titan 1, Metal reads. We'll get 'em back to the carrier.'

A bearded man approached the two pilots. Blaze inferred by the badges, appearance and rank slides of this man that he was the leader of the _Vulture's_ search and rescue crew. Luna recognised the man and offered a hand to him.

'Sergeant Henderson, been a while.' Luna said. Behind his beard, Henderson smiled.

'Captain Atkins, it has. Pilot life treating you good?'

Luna chuckled. 'What do you think?'

Henderson turned to Blaze. 'You must be Commander Williams.' He offered his hand to the pilot.

'Captain technically but the Navy sorta promoted me. You two know each other?' Blaze shook Henderson's rough hand.

'Luna? Yeah, we met in training well back when, 1994?'

'Sometime around then.'

''94, yeah. We should get back to _Vulture_ in an hour. You two'll get proper medical attention there.

The flight was uneventful. When the formation made it out to sea, the Air Force planes bid their farewell and flew back to where they came from.

'Good luck, Captain. Don't get shot down again…' Grimm said when he departed.

'Same applies for you, Han. Stay safe.' Blaze had replied.

'We made it barely in time Commander,' The crew chief of the Osprey was saying. 'Any longer and one of those Arsenal Birds would have cut us in half.'

Somewhere along the trip, Blaze fell into a deep sleep, absolutely exhausted.

In sequence, the two squads involved landed on the carrier with rough bumps. Now completely dark, each pilot used night vision and the guidance lights on the carrier to land. There was no incident. The Panther Squad pilots landed just in time to see Blaze get wheeled off inside and presumably down to the medical bay. Their F-35s were wheeled down to the hangar. As the three pilots got out of the aircraft, Bullet said something.

'Do we have spare aircraft by any chance?' He asked. Talon stopped on the ladder to look around the hangar. Aside from their own F-35s and a couple of damaged aircraft used for parts, the only other aircraft possessed by the carrier's limited wing were already used by the other squads.

'Gonna have to ask the CAG.' Ashley figured out after a few seconds of thought.


	12. Chapter 11 - Passage of Time

**OFS **_**Hubert**_** and OFS **_**Valkyrie**_

_**Hubert-**_**class and **_**Falcon**_**-class (**_**Forrestal-**_**class) aircraft carriers**

**West side of the Osean-Leasath Canal **

For a warship that hadn't been to sea for 20 years, _Hubert _was holding up surprisingly well at sea. After linking up with another mothballed carrier, the even older OFS _Valkyrie_, the assembled fleet of ships were caught in a tropical storm. Neither ship had suffered losses or damage despite their age. Onboard the _Hubert_, Marcus Snow was giving a briefing to the combined aircrew from both carriers. Although only an O-5 Commander, Snow was the senior ranking officer among 140 pilots and as such took the position of CAG leader on _Hubert._ The most experienced O-4, a Lieutenant-Commander, was the CAG on _Valkyrie. _

'We've managed to work any kinks out of our equipment and these fucking rust-bucket carriers on the way to the canal. I would like to congratulate you people for assisting with this.' Snow stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.

'Now that we're in the Spring Sea and heading to Erusea, strategic orders have been given. _Hubert _and _Valkyrie_ will be connecting with a carrier group already on station. _Kestrel II _and _Vulture II_. Flight orders from there, anyone knows, but I'd be willing to bet that we'll be operating against the capital region.'

**Elsewhere, OFS **_**Vulture**_

'That request might be getting fulfilled quicker than you might think, Commander.' Turnell said to the green-haired lady opposite him while looking down at some paperwork he had to sign.

'Oh?' Talon asked with a raised eyebrow. Although not Panther Squad's commander, she was the one sent to ask for a spare aircraft.

'Yep. Two older carriers are coming to reinforce our battle fleet, _Hubert_ and _Valkyrie._'

'I believe you mean rust-buckets. Those ships haven't been to sea for decades.' Talon joked.

'That's what I said when I got told. Either way, they're carrying about a wing's worth of extra aircraft. Plenty of stock to choose from.' A knocking on the door interrupted the conversation between the two. 'Come in!'

The wooden door opened and one of the older pilots poked in. 'Apologies to interrupt sir, but the admiral needs to see you in his office.' He said. Turnell nodded and left without dismissing Talon. The latter stood up and went back to her own quarters all the way at the stern of the ship. _I am fucking tired,_ Talon thought as she opened the steel-plate door into the room using a key. The door locked. _Fuck sake_. Unlocking the door this time, Talon pushed through to see who was inside. She almost didn't see the half-naked and bruised man at the far right end of the room.

Alex was looking at a bruise on his abdomen when he noticed the door open. In came what looked like an exhausted Talon.

'You're out of medical quick.' Talon mused, walking over to her bunk. There were four racks. She occupied the bottom one to the far left. Alex went back to checking his wounds. Talon leaned back a little and looked up and down at the man. He was well-toned. Pectorals were popping, with little body fact surrounding a six-pack. _Jeez, _Talon thought internally smiling. Her view of him was cut off when Alex slipped on a grey t-shirt and slid back onto his rack. After what felt like an eternity, Alex responded to Talon's initial statement.

'Luna did a good job with his first aid. Still flight-restricted for a week though.' Alex grunted as he eased onto his back on the bunk. Talon unbuttoned the upper half of her green pilot's uniform and threw it behind her. Alex saw this movement from the corner of his eyes and twisted slightly to analyse the view. Talon, while not ripped like Alex was, was in good shape and certainly attractive by any standard. Smiling and rolling his eyes, he fell back on the bunk. Shortly after he was out cold. Talon was asleep quickly as well.

A few minutes later, Bullet walked into the crew quarters to see the two asleep and in half-fatigues. He hid a snicker and walked back out.

Mercifully, the next few days went uneventfully for both the carrier and her exhausted aircrew. After a failed assault and attack on one of their forward operating airfields, the Eruseans had laid off attacking the carriers again. In those first few days Alex was restricted from doing anything operationally to let his wounds heal. In the meantime, the man went to the maintenance section and helped the mechanics tune and fix up the 20 aircraft that _Vulture _still had. On the 20th, two other aircraft carriers joined the fleet. Panther Squad was on the stern deck watching the ancient carriers move into formation. _Hubert _splashed up one hell of a wake as she came into position.

'CVN-24?' Haunter noted as she saw the white number on the side of the carrier's superstructure.

'_Hubert_. That thing belongs in a fucking muesum.' Alex mused. 'Must have lost a lot of carriers if they're pulling out decommissioned ships.'

Later that day, Alex was summoned to the flight deck after _Valkyrie_ transferred some of her aircraft over. Turnell, Luna and Lance were already on the deck by the time Alex made it there. The three were checking a line of six aircraft. Mostly Hornet variants, but the one that caught the eye of the Razgriz leader was a Flanker. An Su-33. Lance noticed Alex behind them. 'Special delivery from our new friends.'

'I noticed.' Alex replied, eying the Flanker the entire way to the men assembled on deck. Turnell noticed this.

'You got a thing for Sukhois?'

'Used to fly Su-37s. Su-33s aren't much different and this looks like one of the modernized ones.'

'Keen eye.' Luna said, having also noticed the extra details that differed this particular Su-33 from other models. Namely, slightly larger canards, thrust-vectoring engines and a few pods containing what he assumed was extra avionics. 'Su-33M3. Wonder where they got this bad boy from.' Luna slapped the side of the airframe.

'Considering your interest Blaze, I take it you're claiming the Flanker?' Turnell asked.

'Goddamn right I am.' Alex answered quickly, checking that all the panels on the aircraft were in place and not damaged. All in working order. 'Needs a paintjob though.'

After Luna chose his aircraft (an F/A-18E), Alex got his new Flanker transferred down to the aft hanger. This hangar was smaller than the one up front but was also empty for the time being. Normally the support aircraft and helicopters were in here. Once the aircraft was detached and left to the pilot's attention, he got to work with a lot of spray cans. The first order of business was to apply a primer to the hull to allow later paint to stick. This base colour was carbon black as per the Razgriz's colour pallet. This took roughly an hour to cover the entire airframe. After everything was covered and dry, Alex took up a mix of red, yellow and orange cans and painted a series of flames on the nose of the Flanker. The final touchup included spraying the top of the vertical stabilisers red and adding a unit number and identification letter. The entire process took two and a half hours by which time a couple of MH-60R Seahawks and a CMV-22B Osprey were embarked in the same hangar space.

Aside from the occasional scramble to intercept pairs of patrol fighters, the days between the 20th and 30th were quiet. On the 22nd, Alex was permitted to fly again and took up his wings with a combined mix of Panther and Razor pilots on CAP. Unlike the first time he did CAP, this time nothing of any significance happened aside from intercepting and identifying a fleeing civilian airliner as it headed for Osea. The day after that was different however.

Aircraft

_Panther 1/Haunter: F-35C Lightning II_

_Razor 3/Dagger: F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Panther 4/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razor 5/Luna: F/A-18E Super Hornet_

'_Single bogie ingressing at 040, range 90 clicks and closing rapidly._' Haunter used her LPI radar to track a single aircraft that was approaching from roughly the Farbanti region.

'Su-30. It's probably Mihaly. Blaze, engaging.' Blaze powered ahead of everyone else. Razor 3, callsign Dagger, started to boost to catch up to the Enhanced Flanker.

'_Stand off, Dagger. This is between our ace and him.' _Luna told the Hornet pilot. Understanding, Dagger bled off his energy and held back. Blaze's Su-33 broke the first sound barrier and then rapidly the second as his aircraft hit its max speed at Mach 2.2 or about 2,300 km/h. Blaze opened a public radio channel.

'Su-30SM Flanker, that you Mihaly?'

'_Who were you expecting?'_ The old man's raspy voice crackled over the radio.

'You make a fair point. Turn back.'

'_And what if I don't?_'

'Do you really want to die at the hand of a mechanic?'

'_I'll take that chance._'

'So be it.' Blaze switched from master-safe to his AMRAAMs and quickly got a lock on Mihaly's aircraft. 'Blaze, engaging.' The first AMRAAM came off the rail at a range of 40 kilometres and dashed across the distance. Rather predictably it missed as Mihaly zig-zagged and pitched towards the sea to dodge. _Let's do this the hard way then_. Blaze punched his engines to close the distance. Mihaly did the same coming level again, approaching at near-max speed for his aircraft. With both parties approaching each other at Mach 2, they were within visual distance of each other within a minute. Blaze let off a Sidewinder at extreme close range. Mihaly fired an ASRAAM. Blaze pitched up and banked to avoid the ASRAAM. It missed. The Sidewinder fired by him also missed. The two zipped past each other and rolled upwards to get into a better position against the opponent. S-turns, yo-yos, cross-scissors, the Demon of the Razgriz Straits and the King of the Skies were too evenly matched. After ten full minutes of combat maneuvering around each other, Mihaly withdrew from the fight and flew off back for his own base. Blaze chose not to shoot him down when the old man finally flew in a straight line.

'Bogie is retreating, Blaze returning to normal flight pattern.'

'_Not gonna take him out?'_ Luna said on the radio, confused.

'The basic rules of high-end dogfighting. Always respect your opponent's retreat.' Blaze answered in a somewhat monotone voice.

'_Panther 4._' Mihaly's voice popped in through Blaze's headset. Judging by the fact that no-one else reacted, he was talking on a private channel.

'Send.'

'_Try not to get betrayed by Belkan spies this time.'_

Blaze chuckled. 'Copy that.' The line was cut off and Blaze was left with silence and his thoughts for the remaining hour of the CAP.

On the 25th, _Vulture_ detached from the rest of the fleet to investigate reports of submarine activity south of the Skully Islands. The destroyers _Drake _and _Garrett _escorted the carrier. Panther Squad flew escort for the S-3 Vikings and MH-60 Seahawk ASW aircraft.

Deep inside the armoured magazine of the ship, Lieutenant Joshua Nicholas was whistling with a hand in one pocket and playing around with a zippo in the other. None of the enlisted crew seemed to pay mind to a pilot poking around in an area that you usually wouldn't find one. All the better for his objective in mind. The Lieutenant moved slowly throughout the magazine area, looking for particular weapons; high-yield bombs, torpedos and tactical nuclear weapons. The big ones. When he got a little too close to a rack of bombs for comfort, a Chief Petty Officer stood in front of him.

'Sir, I'd suggest not going near live ordnance.' The CPO said. Joshua shrugged, smiled and pulled a hand out of his pocket. He was holding a rectangular object with a handle on the end of it. It was silver. A compact concealed-carry pistol. Josh raised it to the head of the CPO and fired a shot that blew the man's brains out. The body dropped instantly. He turned around and shot the other sailor who was watching. Josh smiled from ear to ear. _Fun time. _


	13. Chapter 12 - Silent Hunter

'_Alert 5 and 15 aircraft, launch!'_ The carrier air boss announced over the 1MC. On Cat 4, Snow was pushed into his seat as the catapult launched him and his F-14D into the air. '_Swordsman, push bearing 165, the Vulture is under attack!'_

'Copy. Burner to intercept.' The dual turbofans roared as they went into afterburner mode.

_**Vulture**_

Blaze had just touched down on the deck when the explosion happened. The tail hook caught the second wire. A shockwave went through the ship and into his Flanker, dislodging the cable. Instinctively Blaze pulled up and away from the ship with engines lit to avoid crashing into the ocean. Out of the corner of his vision he saw part of the flight deck push up and get flung off by a bright explosion. Black smoke rapidly billowed out of the hole in the deck. Another explosion somewhere closer to the bow ripped up the deck around the middle of catapults 1 and 2.

Talon was woken up by a combination of the shockwave throwing her out of her bunk and the loud fire siren sounding off.

'_All hands, seal off frames 16 through 40, all decks and flood the primary magazines!'_

Standing up, Talon shook her head and went for the nearest damage control locker.

The fires and smoke could be seen from the command deck of the bridge. Admiral Logan cursed and picked up the circuit radio to the Combat Information Centre. 'CIC, Bridge, where the hell did that come from?'

'_No idea, sir. Drake and Garrett didn't see anything on radar or sonar.' _

Logan then switched to the fleet band radio to contact the now-distant _Kestrel _battlegroup. 'Any Osean armed forces, this is the aircraft carrier _Vulture II, _we are under attack and in need of urgent assistance!'

'_Vulture, _we are coming to assist. This is Nemesis Squadron from _Hubert_.' Snow and his fellow F-14 pilots came into viewing distance of the carrier about ten minutes later. A giant smoke pillar trailed her, billowing from several holes in the deck and hull. As he passed over, he noted that none of the damage was below the waterline, so at the very least she wouldn't sink. A black Su-33 formed up on Nemesis's right. Swordsman saw it, quickly recognised the flames insignia and black paintjob. _Why am I not surprised?_ He said nothing over radio, choosing not to say anything about a man that supposedly quit the profession years ago.

'_Nemesis Squad, Escort Alpha._' One of the escorting destroyers contacted the assisting fighter squadron. If Snow remembered correctly, Alpha was _Drake._ An AEGIS-equipped air defence destroyer. '_Maintain CAP formation to our north-east. Alpha and Bravo will provide close-range AA for the carrier.'_ Whoever was on the other end, he was good. Sticking to callsigns and not revealing the escort ships over radio that could be intercepted.

'New sonar contact, bearing 110, designated Sierra 5.' In the _Drake's_ CIC, a sonar signals analyst reported. Before he gave out any more information the man focused on the sound coming through his headset. There was a constant _thrumming_. No way in hell of that being a biologic. 'Prop noise. Submarine.'

The TAO cursed to himself and contacted the captain. 'Bridge, TAO, POSSUB assumed hostile bearing 110.

'I understand captain, but we're not in the condition to launch ASW aircraft. You're on your own until we can bring damage under control.' Admiral Tahir put the radio handset back where it belonged and sighed. 'Helm, make your course 230.'

'My rudder is 15 degrees to port heading 230, aye.'

In the skies above, Blaze separated from the Nemesis formation to do his own patrol ring. As he turned, Blaze noted something out of place in the water. A dark patch where it should have been light like the rest of the ocean. He banked towards it, interested.

Commander Michael Sannis frowned. The aircraft carrier he was stalking had been hit by something and caught fire. Something severe, because much of the bow was warped or outright destroyed. But nothing below water that he could see. However, now the group of ships were turning away from him. Using a rangefinder on the periscope, he shot range from the sub's position to the carriers. _18 kilometres._ Sannis smiled until a few seconds later when an Su-33 popped into view through the periscope. It flew over with a roar that could be heard even through the water and the steel hull.

'Shit, they know we're here.' Sannis started lowering the periscope. 'Fire Tubes 3 and 4. Target the carrier.'

'Launch transient from Sierra 5!' Onboard the _Drake, _the same sonar operator reported.

'Vampire vampire vampire, two inbound anti-ship missiles!'

'Engage with birds.'

'Batteries released, weapons away.' Topside, VLS cells amidships opened to shoot out two RIM-162 ESSM interceptors. One of the anti-ship missiles survived the intercept and continued on target. As the missile got closer, the Phalanx CIWS gatling gun at the stern of the ship swivelved and let out a screen of 20mm shells. At one kilometre the missile exploded and veered into the water, shredded by the Phalanx.

While this spectacle happened, both Blaze and Nemesis Squad watched it all unfold. As expected for an air-defence destroyer, _Drake _successfully intercepted both AShMs, even if the second had gotten a little too close for comfort. Blaze was pissed. Partly at the fact that he couldn't land after being in the air for a fair few hours, but mostly because he couldn't effectively counter a submarine. He looked at the group of ships. _Vulture_ and _Garrett _were both retreating from combat, heading south-west. _Drake_ was going east, towards the submarine. Probably to kill it.

'Nemesis, Panther 4, back up and assist the _Vulture._'

'_Copy._' Swordsman and his crew split off towards the carrier. Blaze recognised the voice but said nothing. _Of fucking course,_ he thought. The dark space in the ocean was no longer visible. The submarine must have dived.

'Escort Alpha, Panther 4, send your tracking data to my HUD. Might be able to help.'

'_Rog, transmitting now._' Blaze checked the terminal in his Su-33, pressed a button and checked with his HMD. The submarine, while underwater, was now tracking through his aircraft so he knew where it was. Right now it was submerging fairly rapidly but not going too fast forwards. Maintaining a low level of noise, smart. _Too bad that we've already detected it. _

'Captain, destroyer 151 is approaching.' A sonar operator.

'Shoot tubes 1 and 2, active search, shallow depth. Sink her.' Sannis ordered.

The sonar of the _Drake _quickly spotted both torpedos. 'Dual launch transient, incoming torpedos!' The ship's captain was quick to answer. 'Hard left rudder, all ahead flank!'

Blaze saw the destroyer turn below with smoke billowing out of the funnels. Beyond that were two new targets on his HMD, in the water. They were near the surface and moved quickly. A job for him to deal with. Blaze banked in their direction and dived. On that dive he switched from master safe to his cannon. One hundred metres above the surface of the water he fired a burst. That burst went through the water and hit one of the torpedos, throwing up a fountain of water which was then amplified by the second torpedo detonating. Both threats were gone. 'Alpha, Panther 4, targets splashed.'

'_Cheers for the assist._'

Sannis was confused. Both of his torpedos had suddenly lost contact. 'Come to periscope depth.' The commander shook his head. _Where the fuck? _'And reload all tubes with torpedos.'

Blaze waited around like a vulture for the submarine to either surface or come to periscope depth. His cannon shells and missiles were waiting for the chance to penetrate and damage or sink the fucking thing. The shells probably wouldn't penetrate deep enough. The missiles could, and indeed they would. The submarine's shadow appeared in the water. Blaze approached from the stern so the periscope wouldn't see him coming. Once certain that he could score a hit, Blaze fired two missiles. They smashed into the water just aft of the conning tower and exploded. They didn't physically make contact, the explosion did however displace water and bent plates in the hull which in turn allowed water to start flooding rapidly into the sub.

The entire boat rocked from the hits. Sannis smashed his nose against the periscope, breaking it. Air pipes hissed, buckled and broke open in the conn and in places elsewhere. Water instantly started spitting through the pipes.

'Surface, surface!'

The damage had caused exactly the effect that he wanted. Damaged and flooding, the sub surfaced. Vulnerable to surface fire from _Drake _and other aircraft. The signal was received and rather quickly _Drake _started firing with her 127mm main gun, quick anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Blaze flew up, rolled down and fired with his own cannon and remaining missiles. All at once, Sannis and the rest of the crew were killed as several munition types hit and exploded, breaking open the hull in several places. If she wasn't already broken, the final death blow was caused when _Drake's_ torpedos hit and tore the rest of the sub to pieces.


	14. Chapter 13 - Friendly Fire

An exhausted Blaze found the closest seat to rest in a carrier ready room and plonked down heavily. Sweat was running down his face, _Hubert's_ ready room was hot and unventilated. Being the last one to have landed again, Blaze and one other man were the only two in the room. He was black. Snow. The latter opened a fridge that had been installed recently and chucked an ice-cold can to Blaze. He pressed the thing against his neck to ward off the heat. 'Cheers.'

'No worries. I had a feeling you'd be out here somewhere, captain.' Snow opened his can and stood up, propped against the bulkhead across from Blaze.

'Lieutenant-Commander now, actually. Brass crossed me over to the Navy.'

'And last I checked you were a civilian mechanic. How'd that mess happen?'

'Long story, but basically I took up a Hornet and then managed to get over here. You?'

'Someone up top activated my reserves squadron and this rustbucket of a carrier. No fucking captains around, so I got placed on as the CAG.'

'Yeah, most of the good ones are probably at home. Speaking of which, am I stuck around here?' Blaze cracked open and took a gulp from his can.

'_Vulture_'s getting rotated back to Osea. Pilots are being placed on the _Kestrel_. _Hubert's _out of position for a bit. Stick around for a while, we could use the experience.'

And so Blaze did stick around. He wasn't assigned to any particular squadron but was instead left to his own unofficial command as the only member of VFA-118. The Razgriz Fighter-Attack Squadron. Many of the _Hubert's _pilot compliment understood the reference and got to hear stories from the war's top ace. Origins, being the Wardog Squadron, being pretend-killed by the carrier's CAG, blowing the Arkbird and the SOLG out of the skies and then disappearing after the end of the Circum-Pacific War. Some were amusing and helped defuse the tension. All the better for operations that would come in the future.

_May 30th, 2019, 1200 Hours_

_Operation Dual Wielder_

_Starting today, IUN peacekeeper forces will be launching a two-pronged strike into Erusea in a bid to work our way back towards the space elevator. The Air Force will be launching an air-superiority operation over Chopinburg for the strike. Meanwhile, our naval forces will attack strategic points in the capital of Farbanti from the Kestrel, Valkyrie and Hubert. Vulture was severely damaged last week and has been sent back to Osea for repairs. This strike will weaken the Erusean command structure and divert forces away from the space elevator for our eventual strike. Do not let us down. _

Snow led a more specific briefing for the squadron commanders. Blaze was one of them.

'Spartan and Wolf Squads, you're on air defence and interception. Everyone else, hit our ground targets. Ideally we should be back before dinner.'

15 minutes later, for the first time in basically ever Blaze was the first to launch off the deck. _Hubert's_ catapults were fully functioning despite corrosion that had happened over the past 20 years.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Blaze/Razgriz 1 - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

The flight to the capital was both short and uneventful. The Eruseans must have been on break because there was no hostile response to an attack run until after the battle had started. Blaze started his attack run against the harbour region at extremely low altitude and extremely high speed, equipped with GBUs. His first target was a moored _Kongou-_class air-defence destroyer. One GBU dropped from a weapon pylon as Blaze shot over the target and pulled up. The impact and detonation of a 2000lb bomb heading at Mach 1 was devastating, splitting the destroyer in half. Climbing, Blaze cut the engines and let gravity throw his Su-33 towards the ocean surface. Coming back towards docked warships, his next target became a helicopter carrier. Three more bombs penetrated the middle and aft deck of the carrier, causing external explosions. One GBU must have landed in a magazine space for a split-second later the entire ship jumped a few metres out of the water and collapsed fatally. Two ships down in the span of 10 seconds. The tally increased with anti-ship missiles coming from other Osean aircraft. Support vessels, frigates, destroyers, carriers, nothing was spared. Another six ships sank in their moorings. Many more were damaged. As the harbour went up in smoke, the attacks went further inland. Blaze led a group of Super Hornets and Lightnings to Farbanti's airport where a variety of Harriers, F-16s and Su-35s were about to launch to counter the assault. Not many survived to get off the ground as they were smashed by missiles and rockets. Fewer still managed to get any credible height and speed to evade before Osean F-14s swatted them from the skies. Blaze's next few kills were a pair of taxiing F-16s with the cannon. The ATC followed shortly, cut in half by a GBU.

20 kilometres away from the coast, Snow, his squad and a few squads of F-18s waited at stand-off distance. They were armed with cruise missiles.

'_Alpha Leader to Nemesis. Shoot, shoot, shoot.' _One of the attacking flight leaders gave the order for the F-18s to release and fire their weapons - AGM-154 JSOWs. Glider weapons, they gracefully slipped off and headed for targets in the capital.

'Weapons away.' Snow announced.

'SAM systems in the quarries!' Blaze dived down after a smoke contrail that had shot up into the skies. Its owner was a static SAM battery. Using his cannon the battery fell apart and exploded, warheads detonating in the missile heads. Across the entire region, smoke was starting to blanket the city. The 200 Osean aircraft were causing a lot of havoc.

'_Task Force One, AWACS Ghost Hawk. Incoming Erusean fighters from the east. Intercept and destroy.'_

Blaze wasted no time. He went vertical to gain altitude and then leveled off to intercept the enemy. A group of Su-33s joined him as did some F-14s. The enemy interceptors popped up on radar, a couple dozen F-15Js and F-16Cs. Proper fighting aircraft. The opposing sides came head-on at each other. As the distance got into missile-firing range, Blaze popped a post-stall maneuver to rapidly lose airspeed. The Su-33s shot past the Eruseans, knocking a few of the latter out of the sky for one loss. Blaze's own Su-33 was in a good position as the enemy fighters passed by the other Oseans, letting him cut through several F-16s with missile and cannon fire, fire and smoke trailing from all of them. One of the F-15s tried to get on Blaze's six. The latter pulled a Cobra, passed over the Eagle and tore it into pieces with a well-placed missile before the pilot could evade. Diving to gain some extra speed, Blaze's ace for the mission came when another F-15, chasing down an F-14, came into Blaze's gunsight. 23mm shells quickly ended the service life of the F-15.

'_Cheers for the assist.'_ The female pilot of the Tomcat thanked Blaze.

'Easy.' Blaze answered, swerving off looking for other air targets. He only saw five. Four were being chased. The fifth and last one, an F-16, was itself chasing a friendly Su-33. This one was different. Instead of the normal brown, tan and green camo used by most Erusean F-16s, this one was painted in a bright digital blue pattern. For a plane it was extravagant. Most likely an enemy ace. Blaze went after the F-16 in an attempt to break it off the back of the friendly fighter. Missile lock. He fired. As expected the enemy fighter broke off to evade the missile coming up his ass. Blaze also expected the enemy to evade and so readied another missile as the ace rolled to turn the other way. Fired. The ace rolled upside down and dived towards the floor popping chaff and flares all the way. Unlike most other Erusean pilots as of late, this one actually appeared to be somewhat competent. Blaze followed the dive, determined to stay on the back of the enemy. This wasn't too much of a challenge, because while the F-16 was a good dogfighter, it was outclassed compared to a canard-equipped, thrust-vectoring modern Flanker.

Elsewhere, cruise missiles from aircraft and warship slowly crept along the coast to Farbanti. Somewhere along the flight path of a cluster of Tomahawks, a destroyer sat at EMCOM Condition Alpha. An Erusean AEGIS vessel. Out of port when the attack started, _Geofon_, a Maya-class AEGIS air defence destroyer, detected the incoming missiles via data link from other active warships. The ship's XO was in the CIC at the time and saw the missiles. Order Disruption was given. _Geofon_ activated all sensor systems and spoofing to throw the cruise missiles off target.

'Element Two, form up.' Element Two, or what was left of it, consisted of pilots who were transferred from the _Vulture_ to the _Kestrel. _A measly seven pilots from Panther and Razor Squads. Lance led the overall formation. They formed up in a collection of F/A-18Es and F-35Cs. All were fitted for anti-surface operations with bombs. 'Drop, drop, drop.' Lance could feel his aircraft get lighter when the various bombs strapped to its belly fell and went for the ground. Looking to either side he saw his wingmen and other pilots do the same. They were targeting a large underground bunker embedded in the side of a mountain meant for air-defence coordination over key areas. _Hopefully_, Army special operations were designating otherwise these bombs were not going to do anything. Talon tracked the attack with her TGP. The wave of bombs penetrated the side of the mountain where the command centre should have been. Nothing happened for a moment. Then several explosions of dirt and stone started ripping out the top levels of the mountain. The bombs had found their target, which scratched off one of the major facilities the strike was meant to eliminate.

Blaze toyed with the F-16 ace for a minute before sending the aircraft spiraling into the ocean in a trail of flame and smoke. Leveling out and heading back inland, a flash in the corner of Blaze's vision caught his attention. He dismissed it as part of the JSOW attack. A second flash occurred in roughly the same area. That time Blaze actually looked to see where it had impacted. His blood ran cold.

'Whoever's targeting a civilian area, cease fire!' More explosions flashed in the residential region where Erusean civilians were living. Fireballs erupted from houses as they splintered and shattered. Blaze could only watch in muted horror as more and more houses exploded.

'_Goddamn it,'_ Snow cursed. '_Mother, Nemesis 1, redirect your Tomahawks, you are hitting CIVILIAN areas!'_

Some distance away at sea, in the _Kestrel's_ CIC, Admiral Logan silently held his head in his hands. He cursed internally. _We just butchered a whole lot of civvies_.

'_All aircraft, AWACS Ghost Hawk, new update from satellite observation. Numerous enemy interceptors approaching. They have the support of an Arsenal Bird. _

'Vampire vampire vampire!' A radar console operator suddenly yelled in the CIC. 'Incoming anti-ship missiles bearing 190!'

'Strike group, _Kestrel, _continue with mission objectives.'_ Kestrel's_ captain ordered. Logan shot a cold look at the captain but said nothing. He was more worried about those incoming AShMs.

Haunter heard both ends of the radio and called out to Snow. 'Commander, the carrier needs our help.'

'_I know. All elements, return to base. Our job's done here.' _

Blaze looked around towards the horizon over land. Although there were no enemy fighters for the time being, he did not want to be there when an entire wing's worth of interceptors came to fuck them.


	15. Chapter 14 - Dual Wielder (Part 1)

**Chopinburg**

'Looks like the other squadrons are already down to business.' Grimm noted from his radar display. Ahead, various Air Force and Navy fighters were dogfighting opposing Erusean fighters over the jungle region. His 242nd Titans and Wolves, along with the 508th Mages, were slightly late to the party. 'Titan Squad, Wolf Squad, free to engage hostile fighters.' The formation split, all pilots going to intercept. Grimm went straight down the middle in the Typhoon, flanked on both sides by another Typhoon and an F-15E. One was Captain Thule, the other was a new addition to the squad.

'Welcome to your first warzone kid.' Grimm spoke over radio to the rookie. 'Shit's gonna go south quick, so stick to your instincts and follow me.'

'_Copy that sir.' _The voice was barely a whisper. A female. Grimm chuckled to himself.

The three dived into the middle of combat. Thule detached quickly to chase down some F-16s. The rookie stayed close to Grimm as he loosed off missiles from extreme range. From the side came an Erusean fighter, looking for the squad leader. Using the extremely agile Typhoon, the rookie pulled a high-g turn and swatted the enemy fighter out of the air with a missile. She then returned back to Grimm's wing, all in one smooth movement. The latter was impressed. Not many new pilots could pull off maneuvers like that. The pair dived deeper into the core of the combat.

'Go hunting. See what catch you can bag.' Grimm strayed away from the rookie looking for a fight. She said nothing and elegantly flew off to intercept a pair of F-16s. Grimm was occupied with an intercept on a stubbornly-evasive F/A-18A. This lasted for a minute until suddenly the F-18 was blown out of the sky. The rookie pilot shot out in front of Grimm, rolling off to suddenly destroy two more aircraft. Now Archer was seriously impressed. His newest addition to the 242nd had managed to catch an ace in under five minutes in her first mission. 'You had my interest, Lieutenant, but now you've caught my attention.'

'_Save the fancy shit for the AAR, sir. We've still got to take this airspace.'_ In a voice that could actually be heard audibly, the rookie replied. Grimm laughed.

'Rog. Titan, Wolf, let's clean up.' Grimm looked to go hunt down more targets. This came in the form of a trio of Su-27s. One wasn't paying attention to his radar and went up in a ball of flame when a missile smacked into his midsection. Another one attempted to evade but was also sliced open by a missile. The third and last was smart and started using its high maneuverability to evade the quickly approaching Typhoon. Grimm shot past, unable to slow down fast enough to get behind the Flanker. Suddenly the archer was the one getting chased. He banked rapidly to the side, tracer fire coming off his shoulder. The RWR started blaring as the Flanker started to track Grimm. The latter dived down to gain speed while dropping chaff and flares. The Su-27 was right behind him. At that range, even with ECM and flares dropped there was no way he was avoiding a missile to the ass. Grimm dived and waited for something to hit him. The RWR stopped blaring and he waited silently for a missile alert warning. Nothing. The cockpit was silent. Grimm looked behind and up to see what the Su-27 was doing. It was a fireball. An F-16 zipped past the fireball surprising the Razgriz pilot briefly before he saw the Osean markings. Friendly. He recognised the icon on the lip of the canopy. Mage 2, Trigger.

'Cheers for the assist.' Grimm leveled up and started climbing again.

'No worries, Major.' Trigger trailed Grimm for a moment to make sure that his aircraft was intact and then detached to hit up some other Erusean fighters. Not that there were many left. Between Grimm's 242nd and the variety of other OADF and OMDF squadrons in the air, almost all of the Erusean fighters had been blown out of the skies. All in 10 minutes after operation start. Some of Titan Squad formed up behind Grimm. Thule was the closest off the former's right.

'So, was that it?' The captain asked.

'_Our radar shows no signs of bandits. You're in the clear._' The AWACS operator, Sky Keeper, reported. Grimm let out a sigh of relief with no pilots lost.

'_I haven't even broken a sweat._' Mage Squadron's leader, Clown, remarked.

'_They have to be crazy to pick a fight with us! A rabid dog would know better!' _A Skeleton Squad member said, somewhat cockily. There were bouts of laughter following that statement.

'_All squadrons hold. Large aircraft detected at long range!' _Sky Keeper had noticed something with his AWACS radar. '_It's an Arsenal Bird._' In the distance, a flying-wing aircraft appeared from the clouds. The thing was massive, wider than it was long. Triangle shapes started falling from bays imbedded in the Arsenal Bird's wings. Those shapes deployed fully and suddenly everyone's radars started detecting a lot of new enemy aircraft. MQ-101s. Drones.

'_Those bastards. They had that thing combat-ready this whole time_.' Sky Keeper.

'_Sky Keeper, this is Skeleton 1. What do we do about that monster?'_

'_We're just waiting for mission command.' _Grimm groaned and shook his head, arming LAAMs and firing at the incoming swarm of drones. Everyone else in the squad armed with LAAMs did the same. Wolf Squad's F-15Es charged to a distance where their cluster AA missiles would be effective.

'Titan 1 to all aircraft, push and engage the Arsenal Bird!' Grimm kicked his engines into afterburner mode and shot forward towards the gigantic airborne aircraft carrier. Titan followed along with Trigger. Many of the other pilots initially hesitated to intercept but decided to after a few seconds. The group of roughly 60 aircraft zipped towards the Arsenal Bird. Swarms of MQ-101s intercepted them. The Oseans retaliated by sending missiles at point-blank range into the unarmoured bodies of the drones. Dozens fell out of the skies in fireballs. Yet the drones managed to catch and destroy a few Osean fighters in return. Thule was one of them. The rookie pilot squad was the aircraft originally targeted but the captain pitched up and banked in the way to catch the missile. His belly took the brunt of the blast and directed away the shrapnel. The F-15 shook in air but managed to remain stable. On the other end of the radio, Thule swore.

'_Titan 2 losing airspeed and altitude. Need to withdraw.' _Thule turned away from the battle and headed towards friendly airspace, no longer able to contribute to air operations.

'I'll escort you back. Wolf Squad, take care of the rookie will ya?' Grimm also turned away to escort the captain back to base. '_Will do sir._' The squad leader of Wolf Squad, Captain Michael Webber, acknowledged.

'_Titan 1, Golem 1, can you escort Golem 2? She's out of the fight._' Knocker asked, strain evident in his voice from pulling a high-g turn.

'Will do.'

'_Cheers. Brownie, follow Archer._'

An F/A-18F trailing smoke slowly caught up to the group. Grimm eased off to the back of the group in case UAVs went after the wounded pilots. The group of three flew west for a couple of minutes. Over the radio the situation with the Arsenal Bird got increasingly desperate. Skeleton Squad by the sounds of things had been completely destroyed. A few members from Titan and Wolf were shot down. No parachutes reported. Then the _proper _retreat order was given.

'_Brilliant observation! If they'd noticed earlier, more of us would've survived to hear it!'_ A Gargoyle pilot stated near-angrily.

'Golem 2, Titan 2, keep going. We'll be out of here in a hot minute.' Grimm reassured the wounded pilots he was protecting.

'_Retreating pilots, heads up. Single incoming enemy bogey._' A pause. '_Su-30. Titan 1, Golem 2, engage.'_

Grimm saw the target on radar several kilometres away, approaching at supersonic speed. 'Golem 2, ignore that and run. I've got this.' He diverted and headed straight for the Su-30. Grimm saw the black paintjob of the aircraft before actually recognising the airframe. Orange wingtips. _Why does that look familiar?_


	16. Chapter 15 - Dual Wielder (Part II)

The Sidewinders fired by Grimm failed to connect with the Su-30SM. The Flanker had somehow managed to roll past the missiles without their proximity fuzes detonating. _ECM. Cheeky bastard._ His own Typhoon was not equipped with that same jamming system which meant that when missiles eventually came his way Grimm had to yank hard on the stick and pull high-speed turns to evade. The aircraft turned hard enough and pulled enough Gs that Grimm nearly blacked out despite the G-suit and prior years of training. It paid off for the missiles both missed. The black and orange aircraft zipped over doing Mach 1. The Flanker slowed down and banked to come after its prey, but Grimm was already on the attacker's tail by the time it had turned around. He fired another pair at missiles, this time at close range. The second that the missiles got within damaging radius, they went crazy and zipped off in random directions to either side, exploding moments later. Flipping up his visor, Grimm sighed. He would have to do this with his cannon. Before he could actually fire with it, the Su-30 pulled a Herbst manuever and suddenly Grimm was facing down the nose end of the Flanker. Quick on the draw, the Ocean pilot cut his engines and pulled up so his own cannon was in the direction of the enemy. The two aces pulled the trigger at the exact same time. The Flanker's 30mm cannon shells ripped into the Typhoon's nose, canopy and one of the air intakes. Grimm reflexively pulled his body to the right when something shattered the plexiglass of the canopy, saving his life as a shell pierced through that and the left corner of the ejection seat. The quicker firing 20mm Vulcan cannon of the Typhoon punched into the Flanker's right hand wing root, tapping out the Flanker's own cannon before it could kill or seriously injure Grimm. More of the shells ripped off a canard and poked holes through the wing before the Flanker fully passed and Grimm was no longer able to hit the enemy fighter. He looked behind himself. Must have hit something vital because the Su-30 was bugging out rapidly for Erusean territory. One hell of an aggressive pilot. That trait did come with its payoff by the looks of things. The Typhoon started falling with the loss of airflow to one engine, forcing Grimm to punch the remaining engine to full power to stay airborne. Wind blasted through through his cracked and broken canopy. And to add everything up his radar was gone, blasted to pieces.

'Titan 1, damaged. Need to withdraw.' Although in the current state of the operation his report didn't add to much, Grimm felt obliged to say so anyway.

'_Jesus, Archer,' _The Wolf Squad commander, Webber, showed up in his F-15E. '_Sure you can fly the rest of the way back?_'

'Bit shaky but I should be fine.' Grimm said confidently, convinced that he should be able to make it back to friendly territory. 'My radar's fried. How many are we down?'

'_Cougar, Iceman and Maverick from Titan, Crow from Wolf.'_

'Shit.' Grimm said sadly.

**2 Hours Later, Scofields Plateau Airfield**

'_Archer, cleared for approach. Crash teams are on standby._' The ATC guided Grimm in for landing with a damaged aircraft. He had to constantly pitch to one side to conteract the drift caused by one engine running. As Grimm got closer to the runway he could see two trucks in red and black tracking his approach. Panther fire trucks. Big motherfuckers. Luckily they didn't have to do much as the landing was soft. Grimm taxiied for a little bit before the ATC came in again. '_Veer over to the grass and get out. We'll recover the aircraft later.' _ The ride got bumpy as the Typhoon spilled over onto the bright green grass. The canopy opened and out came the orange-haired man wearing a flight suit. One of the Panther trucks quickly came along and gave Grimm a lift back to the area where his squadron was mustered. Including the major, the 242nd now stood at 36 men and women.

'Four of ours gone. A couple of other squadrons were completely wiped.' Grimm's voice sounded fatigued, which reflected as much as he felt. He could also tell that his pilots were also tired so he made it quick. 'We found out that Erusea is dependent on its drone fighter wings for battles however. We're all tired, so gear down and get some rest. I'll round you people up tomorrow.' Everyone headed for the crew ready rooms. Grimm followed them from the back. Webber walked next to him.

'I saw our newest recruit got a quick ace.' Webber referred to the rookie.

'A very quick one. She's good. Especially for a nugget.' Grimm agreed while cracking his neck.

'Thule got banged up when he was hit. Guy should be in medical about now.'

'How bad?'

'There was a fair bit of blood. Looked pretty bad.'

Grimm exhaled. _Goddamn it._ 'Down to 35.' The squad got into the building. 'Sort out any issues in Wolf. I'll deal with Titan.'

'Rog.' The pair split off into their respective ready rooms. There wasn't much talk in Titan. The bulk of it was talking about the events of the mission. A question was propelled towards the two piece general uniform clad Grimm.

'Sir, will we have a funeral for the downed trio?' The question came from one of the younger pilots.

'We'll do an informal one at dinner. Should be simple.' Talking about it made Grimm sad again. No-one talked after that. Everyone got into working uniform and then invariably went for something to eat, drink or just to rest after the mission. Grimm and all the surviving senior officers were called to the after-action report. He didn't really pay attention to it all. Once they were all released from the AAR, Grimm had one thing left to do before catching some shuteye. Visiting the medical bay and checking on Thule. As expected for an air base medical bay, the room was whitewashed and well-equipped. However, Thule was no-where to be seen in the general area. One of the doctors noticed Grimm looking around for his captain.

'If you're looking for Captain Thule, sir, he just got admitted to the ICU.' There was a hint of concern in the doctor's voice. He was middle-aged, bald.

'How bad is he?'

'Severe blood loss, fractures, broken ribs. Assuming he recovers from the blood loss alone, he's not going to be flying for a long while.' The analysis was bleak and about what Grimm was expecting. He thanked the doctor, left the medical bay and went for the room where he rested in when duty didn't need him elsewhere. Grimm laid on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

The major was woken up a couple of times by the base's C-RAM systems blasting incoming mortars or missiles out of the air, but quickly fell asleep each time. It wasn't until roughly 9PM at night that someone came to wake him fully. A knocking noise prompted him to mutter something incoherently. With a light chuckle from the other side, the rookie opened the door. The woman appeared to be young, with short dark brown hair and a freckled complexity. The name _Hunter_ was embroided on the chest of her flight suit.

'They're serving in the mess hall if you're hungry sir. Captain Webber sent for you.'

Grimm sat up and rubbed his face with one hand. 'Thank you Lieutenant. Be down in a minute.' Hunter nodded and walked back the way she came. Grimm followed after taking a sip from a bottle of water and putting on a pair of boots. Since the old mess hall had taken a hit from a bomb a couple of weeks prior, the pilots were eating under a sheltered area in the courtyard with food being delivered from inside the intact galley of the building. The 242nd made up most of the contingent with some other elements from the 506th and the 508th. They were bantering with each other from what Grimm could observe. He was given a bowl by Webber as he passed out into the courtyard.

'I recommend the chicken soup. Lieutenant Kovac made it.' Webber said with a smile. In his arms were a pile of plastic bowls. Near the tables was a particular table dedicated to housing many containers with the famed chicken soup. Grimm served some of it up. It smelt good. Tasted good as well. He looked around for a spot to sit down and eat. A man, sitting with one of the flight leaders and a couple of females. Hunter and one of the Golem pilots - Brownie, Grimm seemed to remember - were with him. Grimm nodded and came over to sit down. 'Evening all. This your cooking Trigger?'

The man who had waved Grimm down nodded while taking a sip from a can of apple cider. He gulped it down. 'Possibly.'

'Well, it's good stuff.' Grimm smiled and ate some of it.

'Funny story, Trigger here used to be a chef at a 5-star hotel in Bana City.' Major John 'Clown' Davids mused. Grimm looked at Trigger.

'Better pay in that field than the Air Force. Why'd you become a pilot?'

Trigger smiled. 'Work with narcissistic pricks all the time and you'd want to transfer as well.' Everyone laughed, even Lieutenant Hunter.


	17. Chapter 16 - Aces

'Flooding in the reactor room!'

'_This is the captain speaking. All hands, abandon ship.'_'

The aircraft carrier was listing heavily to one side with fires burning across the entire deck. Blast holes covered much of the starboard side. Dead in the water and sinking.

* * *

'_Fleet's at EMCOM Alpha. Not getting any response from the carriers._' Several kilometres up in the air, the E-2 Hawkeye AWACS Ghost Hawk operator could not get any tracking data or response from any fleet vessel. Even the giant radar the aircraft had wasn't picking up anything aside from the Osean fighter wings. At a significantly lower altitude, the fighters were all spread out looking for their floating base. No sign of them. At the general forward ways of moving, Blaze pulled up for a brief moment to break through the cloud cover that had popped up and look over a wider distance. All he could see was cloud, darkening sky and ocean. Blaze almost went back down to a low altitude when a black tower caught his attention directly to the west. _Is that_? Pushing the engines, Blaze sped over to the tower. It wasn't a solid object. It was a plume of smoke. A plume of smoke caused by fires from a group of badly damaged naval warships. There were four ships. Two were old Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, the third appeared to be a Ticonderoga-class cruiser and the last, the most damaged vessel of the four, was an aircraft carrier. The hull was mangled beyond identification, at least for the Air Force captain.

'Ghost Hawk, Razgriz 1, one carrier is dead in the water!' Blaze was shocked, more by the fact that he couldn't see any sailors in the water.

'_Come again Razgriz?_'

'You heard me.'

'_All hands, assemble on Blaze! Check that carrier!_' Blaze circled around the burning ships for a couple of minutes until a proper naval squadron came for reinforcement. Eight F-14Ds. _Hubert's_ Spartan Squadron.

'_Spartan Squad on station. Blaze was right, we're down one carrier. Ship is sinking fast_.' Spartan's commander was fairly old, a veteran of the Belkan War. '_I think it's the Valkyrie_.' Another squad popped up. Razor. Luna came in low and slow, passing length-ways past the carrier.

'_Superstructure's around midships. It's the Valk.' _Luna sounded depressed upon realising. Although he didn't question it, Blaze figured that the marine must have served on the ship at some point.

'Wait. If this carrier and her escorts are sinking, where the hell are the others?' Blaze asked the logical question. _Kestrel _and _Hubert _were nowhere to be seen. No other escorts or resupply vessels. Just four broken and sinking ships. Soon after Blaze found _Valkyrie_, she slipped under the waves to Davy Jones' Locker. The group continued to head west for half an hour. Many of the other pilots were switched off. Blaze on the other hand was fully alert and now running all of his active sensors. Radar, IRST, the lot. This would help him later on. Ten minutes after they abandoned the carrier, a dull beeping noise in Blaze's headset alerted him to the IRST tracking something in the water. An LCD screen in grey showed what the IRST pod was looking at. A small metal cylinder bobbing around in the waves being kicked up by the high winds. This normally wouldn't have been a concern, since it could have been a buoy dislodged from one of the stricken warships. Blaze didn't think it was. Any static object thrown out here would have quickly cooled down to ambient temperatures which wouldn't trigger an IRST alert. The buoy, whatever it was, was glowing white hot on thermals. It was running something high-powered.

'Ghost Hawk, Razgriz. Tracking a small hot object in the water. Advise caution.'

'_We see it. The hell is that?_'

Blaze had an instinctive feeling to pull up. He did so sharply. In the trail position, Snow did the same albeit at a shallower angle. Panther, Razor, Nemesis and Spartan followed the lead of Snow. Blaze opened a direct link to Snow. 'Something's out of place.' Below them, a couple of objects splashed out of the water. These objects then shot upwards with the assistance of engine boosters. Missiles. The thermals detected them as soon as the engines ignited, alerting Blaze. _I hate it when I'm right._

'_Woah, rockets in the air_!' Ghost Hawk had seen them. '_Evade, evade!_' Blaze and the other squadrons kept climbing while aircraft at lower altitudes resorted to turning. The missiles weren't homing and shot straight up. Many aircraft stopped pushing their airframes upon realising this. As a result, not many were above 5000 feet.

The next thing to happen was a bright white flash.

The shockwave caused by the explosion of the flash reached high up enough to violently shake Blaze's Su-33. The other people above 5000 suffered the same. People below 5000 simply vanished, their fighters disintegrating after being turned into swiss cheese by many fragments of heated metal. In one fell swoop, more than 200 aircraft and their pilots were cut down without as much as a scream on the radio. Blaze banked to see what had happened. When he did look, the first thing he noticed was that on his HMD there were no IFF signatures for all the friendly aircraft.

'_Missile detonation!_' Ghost Hawk reported. _'Oh fuck._' The operator swore quietly but loud enough to be heard by the survivors.

'Where the fuck?' Blaze's voice was faint. His breathing became shaky and suddenly he was back in the cockpit of an F/A-18C nine years prior.

* * *

A blue laser shot down from orbit into the ocean. The Arkbird using its new laser module to intercept burst missiles that had been deployed by the super-sub _Scinfaxi_ during Operation Vanguard. Around him were his old flight buddies, Edge, Chopper and Archer, plus a large number of rookie pilots.

'_Oh no! They're launching more missiles! Number 3, number 4, number 5…'_ An anti-submarine aircraft was tracking the _Scinfaxi _as it moved. The first couple of salvos intercepted, she was now resorting to volley fire to get past the interception system.

'_There's too many!'_ Grimm exclaimed. Many of the rookies started panicking.

'_C'mon, Arkbird! Use your lasers! The nuggets are gonna get killed!' _ Nagase was pleading, clearly in a desperate situation. Blaze knew that the Arkbird wouldn't be able to intercept all of them.

'Up, get above 5000 feet!' He shouted, zipping upwards to reach that altitude himself.

'_Climb, kids! Go, go, go!' _Chopper was right behind him.

'_Come on, nuggets! Climb! Move it!' _So was Edge. A lot of commotion came from the rookie pilots. Two, three missiles shot out from the water. One was immediately blasted away quickly followed by a second.

'_They're coming! They're still coming!'_ From Chopper.

AWACS Thunderhead was counting down the time to next detonation. '_10 seconds to impact. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, impact… now!' _In that same old flash of white, most of the rookies were caught by the shrapnel. There were no screams, not that the Wardog pilots heard. Fragments of destroyed Osean aircraft fell to the ocean surface, dead pilots and all.

And suddenly Blaze found himself in the real world again, spiralling towards the ocean surface with voices blaring through his headset.

* * *

'_Blaze, pull up! Blaze!_' Snow and Talon in particular were shouting it. Blaze snapped back up to level flight at 100 metres above the water. He had to physically hold his stomach to avoid vomiting in his facemask. After taking a few seconds afterwards to make sure that he wouldn't vomit, Blaze checked his radio.

'Ghost Hawk, Razgriz 1, how many?'

'_Too many. I can only see 12 aircraft.'_' Ghost Hawk's voice was barely a whisper.

'_Do the Eruseans have a fucking Scinfaxi?!_' Razor pilot Dagger noticed based off the strike pattern of the missile. Blaze thought the same thing. A hot buoy in the water. Sudden missile strike from out of nowhere. More than likely there was a submarine armed with burst missiles under them. On que with the thought, Ghost Hawk piped up.

'_Second incoming projectile!'_ Blaze dived towards the ocean surface with IRST active, looking for the buoy from before. Once he found it, Blaze armed his cannon and went after it in bursts. The first two missed. On the third the buoy was shredded apart when the HE shells hit it. Once Blaze knew that the buoy was gone and not providing tracking data, he rapidly shot up and punched the engines to max afterburner. His altitude rose rapidly. He made it past 5000 feet with a couple of seconds to spare before the second burst missile detonated in a flash of white. This time there were no losses.

'Killed the tracker, but we need to move before they start firing higher. Head south.' Blaze met the remaining 12 aircraft. With Ghost Hawk at high altitude, the entire formation shifted from west to south. The closest land formation to them were the Twinkle Islands, south of Farbanti. Although the airfield there had been abandoned since the Continental War in 2005, it was more than likely still capable of being landed on. If they could get there. Having been flying for several hours with no resupply, most of the aircraft were running low on fuel. At max conserve, getting to the islands would take an hour. If they got into a dogfight, there would be no chance of making it to land before going into the drink. Blaze and Snow led the formation from the front at a significant distance from the others. If someone came to engage, they would be the bulwark to save their flight mates.

'_Razgriz 1, Nemesis 1, numerous unidentified aircraft approaching from the east!' _Ghost Hawk noted. Blaze banked to the east and checked his radar. Indeed there were quite a few aircraft quickly ingressing towards them.

'Everyone, keep going. I'll intercept them.' Blaze went to afterburners to intercept. Snow banked and followed.

'_You need backup. Nemesis 1 intercepting._' The pair shot off. There were ten contacts in total. Radar signatures indicated that they were all of different airframes. That fact alone bothered Blaze to some degree. No normal fighter squad. Behind them the rest of the Osean fighters didn't follow and went south as ordered. It was dark, gloomy and raining. Perfect setup for a dogfight.

Snow started the engagement by leading with a long range shot with an AMRAAM. 50 kilometres. The RWRs of both Blaze and Snow started blaring followed by a missile warning. Both banked and popped flares and chaff to evade. The ploy was successful but now the enemy fighters were within visual range. The enemy formation consisted of mostly advanced and rare fighters - F-22, Su-57, Su-47, an X-02 and most notably an ADF-01 FALKEN. Blaze saw the nose of the FALKEN open and went evasive before a blue laser shot out from it and towards the Razgriz pilots. The enemy pilot tried to score a hit with his laser but at distance did not manage to strike before the charge ran out. As the distance between both parties decreased, enemy chatter came over the radio.

'_Laser attack ineffective. Switching to missiles.'_

'_The Su-33 is mine. Everyone else take the F-14.' _One lady, presumably the leader, transmitted an order.

'Marcus!'

'_I heard, evading!_' Snow threw himself at the nine aircraft after him. Before Blaze heard his missile alert go off, he saw a flash caused by one of Snow's missiles hitting the Su-47. He popped chaff and rolled to evade. From the thundercloud in front of him popped out an Su-37 Terminator, shooting out a red laser. Shouting to himself in surprise, Blaze barely managed to evade the beam by pulling a Cobra above it and the Su-37 passed underneath him. Now the fighters had to pitch and bank to get back at each other. Judging by the flight style of the enemy pilot, she indeed had a good hand at combat maneuvering. _Time to put you to the test_. The pair came head-on at each other in a straight line. Blaze saw the TLS unit mounted underneath the Terminator start to power up and it was at that moment that he rolled so his cockpit was facing the ocean and his cannon at the bottom of the enemy. He fired a precise burst. It landed, ripping into the TLS unit and starting a fire that rapidly turned into an explosion as the power core was compromised. The enemy pilot quickly ejected the TLS when it took damage so the aircraft wasn't destroyed. Blaze rolled upright and fired a longer burst from the cannon intending to bring her down. The pilot pitched up but not before taking a few rounds to the belly. Blaze now owned the initiative and relentlessly chased the Su-37 down as the pilot desperately tried to evade the shots. Some ripped off a vertical stabiliser. One engine broke down as a shell went through it and out the front air intake. The final nail in the coffin for the doomed Su-37 pilot was when Blaze loosed off a Sidewinder which split the aircraft in half. Before the entire aircraft exploded the pilot ejected. With his personal attacker gone, Blaze went off to go help Snow fight off the other nine aircraft. When he made it, he found out that that number had gone down to seven, the FALKEN and the F-22 gone.

'_Need some help here!_' Snow was being attacked from virtually every direction by both missiles and cannons. The fact that he hadn't taken any damage was remarkable.

'On it.' Blaze took up position behind the two fighters on the tail of Snow. He lined up a Sidewinder and fired at one and then the other in quick succession. The first, a YF-23 managed to evade by flaring and flying upwards but the second, the X-02, failed to move fast enough and took a missile up the tailpipe. The aircraft shuddered and noticeably slowed down but didn't explode afterwards or go down. 'Guys in the back are down.' Blaze said when he had to bank and turn to avoid the frontal fighters from slamming into him. That left six effective aces after them.

'_Thanks. Feel good to be back in the seat commander?!'_ Snow sounded like he was having a fun time.

'Fuck yeah!' Blaze felt energetic in the heat of the moment, chasing after a pair of them at the same time. The Su-57 and the YF-23. In a series of tight loops and turns, the Su-57 cobraed as if to get behind Blaze, but Blaze merely did his own Cobra and blasted the Su-57 while it couldn't maneuver with Sidewinders. Blaze gained his forward airspeed again and chased the YF-23 down. He had a shot lined up with the cannon. Which was exactly when a missile alert popped up from directly behind him. Blaze used the last of his flares stock to spoof. This partially worked as it threw the missile off course. However, it still had a proximity fuze and detonated a solid few metres away from the Su-33, propelling shrapnel into the right side of the aircraft. Blaze grit his teeth with the shuddering of the aircraft and the damage alerts blaring. He sprayed the YF-23 with an unhealthy amount of cannon shells before breaking off and switching off one of his damaged engines. Snow wasn't much better, himself occupied with two others, a Typhoon and an Su-35. While both aircraft were able to turn better than the F-14, the latter had the advantage in speed and Snow made full use of this by going to afterburners, shooting to a distance where he could fire his AMRAAMs and then turning back towards the enemy. Snow managed to claim the lives of both this way. After those two went down, the enemy aces were down to two aircraft which made the engagement a 1 on 1. However, both Oseans were close to out of both munitions and fuel, and Blaze's aircraft was missing half of her thrust and a decent amount of maneuverability.

'_Blaze, what's your ammo count? I'm Winchester_._'_Snow quite literally had nothing left.

'40 rounds in the cannon and one AMRAAM. Not much better.' Blaze fired the last AMRAAM at a rapidly approaching F-16E Block 60. It missed when the F-16 evaded but it went straight into Blaze's cannon path. He used the remainder of his magazine to critically damage the F-16 and force it out of the fight. That still left an Su-35S which they weren't able to combat.

'Evade!' Blaze shouted and turned to avoid a missile fired at him. His Su-33 veered off the course he wanted to dangerously, nearly losing control and spiralling. Blaze managed to wrestle control back but by that stage the Su-35 was right behind him. A miss at that range would be near-impossible. Blaze reached for the ejection handle as the RWR started blaring, but never heard the proper missile alert for the Su-35 had twisted and turned away popping flares to avoid something. Blaze needed time to pick up airspeed again and didn't look at what the Flanker-S was trying to evade. Chasing the Su-35 down, Snow saw a flash near the aircraft from a distance. The aircraft leveled out with smoke trailing followed by the pilot ejecting a short moment before it was hit by a second missile and exploded.

'_Woah. Four new aircraft approaching from the south-east. They're transmitting neutral IFF.'_ Snow, facing in that direction, found out where the missiles came from. Blaze joined up with Snow, smoking trailing from his damaged Su-33.

'Su-37, F-15C, an F-22 and a tanker?' Blaze was confused. A supply shipment? 'Unidentified aircraft, this is the Razgriz Squadron of the Osean Maritime Defence Force, state your ID and intentions.'

'_Do I really need to go through with this shit Alex?_' The response was quick and Blaze instantly recognised the voice. He relaxed for the first time in the past few hours.

'For peace of mind. My wingman might not know you.' There was a sigh from the other end.

'_Razgriz Squadron, this is Mobius 1 of the Independent State Allied Forces. I am being trailed by Galm 1_-'

'_Hey kid.' _Cipher. Blaze smiled.

'_-and Yellow 13, also escorted by the tanker aircraft Sky Eye.' _Blaze knew of Yellow 13, but unlike Cipher or Mobius had not met him.

'_Mobius 1 from the Continental War?_' Snow asked the legend.

'_The one and the same.' _Mobius answered. '_I understand you people are low on fuel, so form up for IFR and we'll take you to a safezone._'

'Copy. Falling in.' Blaze was happy for the offer. His fuel was nearly empty and he was sure that Snow's Tomcat was in the same condition. The friendly pilots came to them with a KC-130 trailing. The Flanker and the Tomcat pilots took position to either side and were supplied with a refuelling probe that they connected to and topped up from.

'_At cruising speed we should get there in about half an hour, so get comfortable._' Cipher took the lead position while Mobius 1 and Yellow 13 trailed in a protective formation.

'Cipher?' Blaze asked five minutes into the flight.

'_Hmm?_'

'Did you pick up 12 other Osean aircraft by any chance?'

'_Negative. They overshot and went straight into a group of surface vessels. Christ knows what happened to them.'_

That could have meant two things. Either they found the _Kestrel_ and _Hubert_, or that had been a Erusean surface formation and all the survivors had been blown out of the air by their air defence. Blaze gulped and hoped it was the first scenario. 'Also, are we going to the Twinkle Islands?'

'_Yep._'

The formation of aces and support reached the island chain 20 minutes later. For an airfield that had supposedly been out of action for 14 years, the facility they were landing at was in good condition and had a fair bit of supporting infrastructure. Blaze's landing was more of a crash than anything else but he managed to stick it and pilot the aircraft as directed to a hangar where mechanics were waiting. Snow trailed into the same pit. As Blaze turned off the engine, APU, took off his helmet and opened the canopy, a crew chief called out to him.

'Welcome to ISAF GHQ!'


	18. Chapter 17 - Dulled Edge

**The following day**

High up in space, the _Pilgrim I _orbited around the planet. Kei was on the bridge of the plane-like space vessel looking at the Earth below. On the Usean continent, smoke could be seen from orbit, the site of mass destruction. There were many smoke pillars that she could see. Kei sighed and got up. 'XO has the bridge.' The captain left, heading for the crew quarters. She needed to make a call to someone.

At the Twinkle Islands, Alex woke up when he subconsciously heard the faint roar of jet engines. The first thing he did was to check his phone for the time. 6:30 in the morning. _Jeez, didn't get much sleep. _Alex stood up and stretched when his phone started ringing. 'Who?' Alex mused to himself while checking the caller ID. 'Oh. Kei.' He took the call.

'_Alex?_' She started the conversation first.

'That's me, Kei. How's space doing?'

'_Come up for seven years and ask me again. Are you okay?_'

'A little banged up but otherwise I'm fine.'

'_Banged up_?'

'Well I got shot down and shot in the stomach a few weeks back and I almost got shot down again earlier this morning.'

'_You what?!_' Kei's sudden volume and concern made Alex jump out of his skin. _Protective as ever._

'Hey now, I'm still fine. Funny story, I managed to find Marcus and I know Grimm's out there somewhere. And now me and Marcus are at an ISAF-controlled airbase on the Twinkle Islands.'

Kei calmed down. _'Okay, good. But I thought ISAF was disbanded after the Continental War?_'

'With all the Free Erusea stuff that happened a while ago, they're still around but in a smaller capacity.'

* * *

**Meanwhile  
Maya-class guided missile destroyer **_**Geofon**_

In the middle of the Spring Sea, Erusean AEGIS destroyer _Geofon_ cruised south at a steady 20 knots. After much of the fleet moored at Farbanti was crippled, _Geofon_ had been sent to escort a high-value cargo ship to Anchorhead Bay. The two ships had been operating at EMCOM Alpha to avoid detection by the Osean carrier task force that was probably around their location.

An electronics warfare officer was manning a station in the CIC, scanning passively in all directions for any hostile communications.

'Sir!' He called out. 'Detecting a broad-band connection from a craft in low Earth orbit. Path is consistent with that of a radio call.' A more senior officer, the Tactical Actions Officer, came over to the EW officer. He checked the screen and then picked up a headset.

'Bridge, TAO, an Osean satellite above our heads is communicating with forces on land.'

'_Can't risk it revealing our location. ASAT launch authorised, kill the bird._'

'Copy.' The TAO smiled and put away the headset. 'Activate SPY radar and fire control. We're shooting to space ladies and gents.'

'Ballistic tracking enabled. Target aquired.'

'Kill Track 2100 with birds.'

'Batteries released, shoot.'

'Missile away.'

_Geofon _fired an SM-3 Standard exo-atmospheric interceptor. A variant of the SM-2, the SM-3 was designed specifically to intercept ballistic missiles while they were in the orbital phase, but in practice they could hit anything in orbit provided that it could be tracked. The first was followed by two more. They quickly broke the sound barrier and accelerated to intercept the _Pilgrim._

* * *

'New ESM contact.' Down at the base's command room, an electronic warfare operator reported a spike in energy appeared as a solid line on his monitor. The line was thin and down a definite bearing. 'He's a strong one. Bearing 055, designated Echo 3.'

'With that sort of energy, no way in hell it's a civilian vessel.' The senior NCO next to him noted, pressing a button on his keyboard. 'Control, Chief Griffins. Warship assumed hostile, 055, designation Echo 3. Recommend aircraft scramble to ID and intercept.'

In a room under the ATC, an officer received the call. 'Acknowledged. General, Echo 3 is assumed hostile.'

A gritty-looking general saw the contact go red on a projector at the front of the room. 'Send up the Alert 5 aircraft as a precaution and wake up the others.'

* * *

On _Pilgrim_, Captain John Davis was half-asleep when a light flashed red and made beeping noises. The noise stirred the XO and made him check what the issue was. His heart stopped and his blood turned to ice when he realised what alarm was going on. John was quick to press a button on the communications panel that transmitted to Nagase's room.

'Kei, radar ping from the surface!'

In her room, Kei held her phone in one hand and replied to John's call with the other by hitting the voice activation button.

'Search or fire-control?' '

'_I dunno but it's pretty fucking powerful and getting really fucking close!_' John's voice was urgent. Alex could hear it from the other end of the line.

'_Kei, what does he mean getting close?_'

A ship-wide alert blared, loud enough to vibrate the hull. '_All hands, incoming kinetic warheads, brace for impact!_'

'Alex!-'

Alex heard the commotion and Kei shout out his name before there was a loud static noise and then the line cut.

'Kei? Kei?!'

* * *

All three missiles hit their target. One hit the command deck directly, shattering the plexiglass windows and shredding apart most of the front end. John was speared directly by the warhead and exploded in a puff of gore. Explosive decompression sucked the other three members on the bridge out into space where they would suffocate in the vacuum of space. The second was a near-miss, blowing out many hydraulic and electric systems in the starboard wing near the flaps. The third and last hit roughly in the centre of the _Pilgrim._ This warhead exploded instead of piercing using pure kinetic warhead. Kei's room was located on the bottom-most level of the centre module and so took the brunt of the explosion. The floor underneath her simply folded away as the explosion blew it away. Luckily she still had her pilot reactions and instincts, grabbing onto the handle of a closet before the decompression could suck her out. Kei reached for the door handle next to the closet so she could get out of the room and into a safer area. Fragments of metal shot up and caught her in the legs. A particularly big shard of metal ripped open Kei's arm halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. She screamed soundlessly in pain, that arm falling uselessly and leaving her tethered to the cabinet to suffocate. Blood started to pour out of the wound. Kei almost let go from pain overwhelming her body when the door opened to reveal another crew member looking for her, wearing an oxygen mask and helmet. She grabbed Kei by her wounded arm, motioned for her to let go of the door. Kei did so and the crew member dragged the captain back into relative safety before shutting the door and sealing the room. Injured by exposure and impact marks, Kei passed out on the floor.

* * *

On the planet surface, Alex tried to call Kei's phone. He waited a second for a tone. The call cut short followed by an automated voice. _The person you are trying to call is currently unavailable_\- Blaze threw the phone at a wall in a fit of anger. Quick-minded, the first thing to come to the 32-year old's mind was revenge. Eyes seeing red, Blaze rushed out of the room to the surprise of a nearby ISAF airman. He ran for the hangar bays, passing Snow and Cipher on the way past. Snow said nothing but Cipher called out to the apparently deaf pilot. 'Blaze! The fuck are you going? Your aircraft isn't combat-ready!' Blaze left the two in the distance. Behind Cipher, Snow sighed.

'I hope you lock your plane, sir, because if it's functional he's going to steal it.' Snow's voice was flat, as if he understood what had happened. A third man, a white-haired one in a brown flight suit, watched Blaze run.

'Not yours Williams, your F-15 is still in the hangar. He'll probably take my 37.'

Blaze burst out onto the Alert 15 line. Ground crew and some pilots were assembled in the area but not a lot of the latter. He quickly processed each aircraft to see if they were suitable for anti-ship operations. He skipped over a few Su-27s and F-16s. _No, no, no, no, no_. A two-tone grey and yellow Su-37 caught Blaze's attention. Prepared for a sortie and armed with anti-ship missiles. _Good enough_. He climbed up the ladder, strapped in and put on the helmet the Terminator already had. The same size as Blaze was, good. Blaze shut the canopy and kicked off the takeoff procedure with the assistance of confused ground crew. Within 5 minutes, Blaze rolled out from the hangar and swiveled to the taxiway which he used as a runway to take off from. Afterburners lit, he roared into the skies. The number 14 was pasted on the side of the Su-37.

'Tower, Razgriz 1, requesting bearing to enemy ABM launchers.'

'_Bearing 045 from tower, Echo 3. Transmitting IFF data.'_

'Received. Intercepting.' Blaze shot off at just above sea level at bearing 045. He had just lost his best friend - no, girlfriend -, a veteran of the Circum-Pacific War, to new-fanged ABM technology. By tooth or claw he would extract revenge on the offender. A water slick kicked up below and behind the jet.

* * *

'All three interceptors hit. Target destroyed.'

'Good job. Shut off AEGIS and fire-control.'

* * *

The contact went silent on radar and dropped off. Blaze grunted angrily and increased his altitude to peek over the horizon. He activated his radar. It took a few seconds to get a radar return from the same bearing. _Lock acquired, you fucks._ Blaze selected and fired a pair of missiles - BrahMos supersonic AShMs. Faster than the Su-37, they shot ahead to go hit the contact. Blaze switched off his radar and went to an extremely low altitude again. This process was performed fast enough that the _Geofon _didn't detect the Su-37 nor the AShMs. Both BrahMos weapons went active at their end-point, five kilometres from the bow of the _Geofon_.

'Vampire vampire vampire, incoming AShM-'

* * *

_Geofon _was hit by two supersonic anti-ship missiles on the 31st of May, 2019 at 0630 hours local time. She was lost with all hands when VLS magazines detonated and tore apart the ship. Later analysis of electronic systems data and satellite imaging would reveal that the launch aircraft was an unmarked Su-37.


	19. Chapter 18 - An Exiled Pilgrim

Through bright-white corridors with blaring damage alert sirens going off across the ship, Air Force Sergeant Jacob Stone dragged the injured and unconscious Kei to a safer area away from the damaged portion of the ship. As he got to a ramp leading to the higher levels, Kei stirred. As the captain regained consciousness, she started groaning which then turned into some controlled screams.

'Hang on Kei, medical is directly above us.' Jacob said reassuringly, dragging her up and around the ramp to D deck. A thin trail of blood followed them. The compartment door opened for that deck, indicating that the local atmosphere here was contained. A pair of other crewmen walked into them. Two of the _Pilgrim's _four qualified medics. They were both carrying a plastic stretcher for any wounded crew. The leader of the two dropped down the stretcher and helped get Kei onto it so they could move her quicker.

'Jacob, did you grab anyone else on E deck?' He said while lifting up the stretcher.

'Nada, didn't see anyone!' Jacob had to yell to get above the noise of the alarms. 'Most of E deck's been vented!'

'No response from the bridge, power forward may have been cut.' The assembled group of four entered the medbay. Another five were already inside. The other two medics and a handful of engineers were performing checks on equipment to make sure nothing was critically damaged.

'Captain's injured.' The leader of the medics, an Erusean, Warrant Officer Daniel Hubert, said placing Kei onto a proper bench where he could check the wounds. His escorting medic and another joined him in checking. Combined they checked her entire body, having to cut through portions of her uniform to see the extent of damage in some places.

'A dozen odd punctures and lacerations to the legs. One major laceration to the arm, through the bicep, just above the humerus. Some minor contusions.'

'Splint and isolate her arm.' They got out a tourniquet and placed it on Kei's wounded arm, just below the shoulder so blood flow would be restricted to the cut. Kei had passed out from both the shock and an IV directly pumping painkillers into her body.

'_Attention all hands, Damage Control Centre. Evacuate frames 1 through 19, all decks. Seal off E deck and make your way to the medbay.' _Someone had made it to DCC evidently.

In the DCC itself, four people were kitting up in what looked like firefighter uniforms, with helmets, respirators, oxygen tanks and a heavy-duty uniform. They were similar but were built with thicker, tougher materials and a cooling regulator undersuit to better ward off the effects of being in a vacuum.

'Alright,' Jacob was the group leader of the damage control guys. 'Light board has indicated that damage stems from our belly on E and D decks, with atmosphere venting from the bridge to communications and the resting berths. Electrical forward of communications on all decks is down. We'll conduct a sweep in all damaged areas for survivors, bring them to medical and fix any damage to vital systems. Order is life support, electrical, communications and navigation. Clear?'

'Crystal.' Jacob's men all replied.

'Brilliant, let's go.'

* * *

Snow, Mobius, Cipher and Yellow watched from their hangar as Blaze touched down gracefully on the airfield and taxied over to the berth. Yellow was amused that the Razgriz pilot had taken his plane in particular.

'You reckon he got it out of his system?' He said to Mobius.

'Yeah, I think he did.' Mobius replied as they were cut off by the engine noise of the Terminator pulling in. An enlisted ground member waved him down and got the pilot to halt. A gaggle of other crew then ran out to tie down the aircraft. The engines went to idle, turned off and the canopy opened.

'Better?' Cipher said out loud when Blaze strapped out of the ejection seat. The latter shrugged as he came down the ladder.

'Better.' Blaze approached the group and Yellow in particular. 'Yellow 13?'

'Yes.'

Blaze held out his hand to the Erusean ace. 'Alex, but most people call me Blaze. Sorry about your plane by the way.'

Yellow smiled and shook his hand. 'James Roald. It's not broken so I'm not worried.' Blaze nodded and looked up at Cipher.

'Sunk a destroyer. AEGIS vessel.'

'Erusean?'

'Yep.'

Mobius interrupted the conversation briefly. 'You Razgriz pilots haven't had anything to eat since yesterday. Let's go to the cafeteria.' The five ace pilots exited the hangar where their aircraft were stored and went over to the cafeteria, roughly in the centre of the base. In comparison to his frantic and angered pace about 20 minutes ago, Blaze seemed to be in much more control of himself now. Cipher and Snow noticed this but said little of it. The latter tried to make some conversation.

'Colonel Williams?' He referred to Cipher.'

'I prefer Cipher, but what's up?'

'Are you related to Alex here?'

Cipher chuckled. 'He's my nephew.'

Snow looked at Blaze in surprise. 'This where your flying talent comes from?'

Blaze stifled a laugh and shook his head. 'My dad was a pilot as well.'

'OADF?'

'Yes, but no.' Cipher answered the question first. 'You need to understand that the Williams family is Belkan. My brother and Blaze's dad was in the Belkan Navy as a fighter pilot. Guy retired and moved to Osea with his family where he became a pilot for the Osean Air Force. Blaze followed in our footsteps.'

'Before you ask, Cipher was Belkan Air Force himself.' Mobius said from the front of the pilot column. 'Became a fucking merc before the '95 war started. And as we all know that's history.'

'What about yourself, Mobius? How'd you meet Cipher?'

'Exercise Talisman Sabre in '91. We were in the same team and became friends.' The group entered the cafeteria and made a beeline for a table in the far right corner of the room. Being early morning, there were a couple dozen ISAF support personnel eating and having conversations before their work shifts. There was a fruit bowl on the table they occupied. Blaze grabbed an apple and bit a chunk out of it. They all sat down. After the initial conversation through the base hallways, the group was quiet. After a minute of this silent where the two Razgriz members chomped away at pieces of fruit. Mobius decided to break it.

'Blaze, what vessel did you sink?'

'I got two. The first was the destroyer. The other looked like a bulk carrier.'

'Class?'

'DDG-564. _Maya_-class?'

'_Geofon._ One of Erusea's newest air-defence warships. I'm honestly surprised you made it back in one piece.'

'Zac, I've had to deal with entire fleets. One vessel, even if it has AEGIS, isn't a challenge.'

'Not to mention the Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi. Alright, good job.'

* * *

Later on that day, in orbit, the sedatives keeping Captain Kei Nagase asleep in the medical bay were wearing off. She muttered a little bit before waking up partially. Her eyes opened about half-way, scanning her environment. She was underneath white covers on a bed, a thick bandage arranged around the middle of her upper arm. A series of needles were pumping painkillers and fluids into her body. Kei groaned, catching the attention of WO Hubert.

'Welcome to the land of the living, Captain.' Hubert checked Kei's vital signs on a monitor. In acceptable rates considering her condition.

'How bad?' She muttered, trailing her head off to one side.

'You lost a litre of blood and your right bicep has been severed, along with some smaller cuts and penetrations to your legs.'

'No, the crew. The ship.' Kei's voice was quiet but gained strength from a moment ago. Hubert inhaled.

'52 confirmed dead, including Captain Davis. Five wounded, three seriously including yourself. The bridge, most of the crew berthings and the port-side wing have been damaged and exposed to vacuum. Damage control is working on repairing the communications array.' Hubert's report was morbid and a hint of sadness was obvious in his voice, even to the drugged Nagase. The latter shut her eyes and shed a single tear. She tried to stand up, but the Erusean chief medic pressed her back down.

'Captain, you're in no condition to walk. I'll assemble the crew here once major systems have been restored.'

Kei understood, nodded and laid back down. 'Carry on.'


	20. Chapter 19 - Lighthouse Keeper

'_Sky Keeper, Panther Squad, on approach from bearing 170. 50 kilometres to target.'_

'_Copy, Panther. Mage 2 should breach the radar net shortly.'_

_June 6, 2019, 1600 Hours_

_Operation Lighthouse Keeper_

'_As proved by the failure of our previous strategy, the Arsenal Birds have bolstered the enemy's anti-air network. This'll be difficult to overcome. However, we still need to get swiftly to the space elevator, no matter what it takes. Someone there is counting on us. The hero of the Circum-Pacific War and the man who spearheaded the construction of the space elevator. Osea's former president, Mr. Harling. Mr. Harling was inspecting the elevator when the war broke out. He's been classified as missing since the elevator was taken over by the Erusean forces. However, according to the latest intel, a military officer accompanying Mr. Harling hid him inside the facility. Both are waiting for a chance to escape. Enemy anti-air radar network has been set up around the space elevator. It's likely a large squadron would be detected. We will send a single aircraft through the network, and send in a rescue team soon after. A number of anti-air radars have been set up around the space elevator.l However, our reconnaissance suggests their network is weakest along the southeastern coast of Selatapura. So, we can elude the enemy's observation. There are a lot of rain clouds this time of year. Flying through the clouds will enable us to stay hidden from their radar. Once Trigger busts through the network and eliminates the anti-air network, secure the rescue craft's landing zone and escort Mr. Harling's craft after rendezvous. Good luck out there, everyone.' _

'_Risky plan coming straight through the gauntlet.' _Bullet noted, referring to the plan to send one pilot through an entire radar network. While the Panthers themselves were in the radius to be detected by radar, they ran their F-35s in a clean configuration, taking advantage of the aircraft's stealth capability to remain unnoticed.

'_And a bold one at that. This Trigger guy must be good.' _Haunter, leading the Navy spearhead, replied. '_We've got support from one of Blaze's wingmen. We should be fine._'

'Speaking of Blaze,' Talon started talking. 'He's alive out there. He saved Harling twice. Why isn't he joining the operation?'

'_A damaged plane, in the middle of Erusean-controlled waters and airspace, with no support and too far a distance for an Su-33. You tell me, Commander.' _Bullet's sarcastic tone came through.

'Fair enough.'

'_All elements, Mage 2 has eliminated the anti-air network around the space elevator. You are clear to approach._' Sky Keeper announced the moment that Trigger destroyed the last SAM battery. Panther Squad heard the instruction and pushed their engines harder to close the distance between them and the other squads. A long distance behind them, a CV-22 Osprey followed into the AO. Metal Squad, a backup should Sea Goblin need reinforcements. Their radars went active and started transferring tracking data to all friendly forces.

'_Minimal amount of aerial activity. Should be clear skies in and out._' Haunter checked her radar display. Indeed there were only a couple of MiG-29s on CAP in the region. The blips related to the two aircraft disappeared, one and then the second. Someone else had blown them out of the air. The upper tether of the space elevator came into view just over the horizon. As Panther got closer, the rest of the gigantic structure popped up. Even from a distance they could see other Osean aircraft orbiting around the area.

'_Panther is entering AO from the south. Metal should be engagement range in five mikes.' _The three F-35s made heading for Selatapura airport, the most likely avenue of aerial reinforcement. Two F-15Es joined them for the approach. Aggressor paint schemes. Their tail markings indicated them as the Air Force Wolf Squadron, while the canopy paints indicated that the pilots were _Huntsman _and _Taipan _respectively. In a five-ship formation they zipped over the airfield at supersonic speeds. No military activities. Some civilian airliners were lining up for takeoff.

'_No apparent activity over the airfield. Diverting to barrier position._' One of the F-15 pilots transmitted. His voice sounded cool. Kind of like a surfer.

Closer to the space elevator, Grimm and his wingman Mythic were circling when sensors pointed out something from the city bay. 'UAVs coming from the port. MQ-99s. Titan, engaging.' Grimm and Mythic peeled off from the barrier around the elevator to go intercept the approaching drones. There were four of them. Equipped with AMRAAMs, Grimm fired a pair off to hit them, Mythic doing the same. Three fireballs appeared in the sky, the fourth drone peeling off and launching a missile of its own at the pair. To evade, Grimm and Mythic approached close to each other to appear as a single radar signature. When the missile got closer, they split off to spoof the missile. Confused with the appearance of a new contact, it zipped between the two Titan pilots and self-destructed harmlessly. The pair engaged the drone in a 2-on-1 dogfight. Against both aces, the MQ-99 stood no chance as it was nailed by a Sidewinder from Grimm after it rolled to avoid one fired by Mythic. The four destroyed drones were replaced by another wave of six more.

'_These things are like hydras._' Mythic commented. For every one they destroyed, there was invariably a backup to clap unsuspecting pilots. The AMRAAM wave was more successful this time, with all six going down after being hit in the nose by them. Only two took their place.

'Can someone hit the containers in the port? They're just keep coming.' Grimm requested to an available squadron while hitting his MQ-99 with yet another AMRAAM. Mythic missed her shot and decided to spray the second drone out of the skies with 20mm HE-I shells, a stream of red tracers smashing their way into the airframe of the fighter.

'_Panther Squad, engaging.'_

* * *

Haunter, Bullet and Talon appeared from rainclouds to the north to drop in on air defences and drone control centres in the city proper. ZSU-23-4 batteries started firing into their skies in their general direction, tracers lighting up the skies. The F-35s painted the targets with onboard laser designator pods for the escorting F-15E attackers to drop a series of missiles and bombs on the targets. Once the most dangerous targets were marked, Huntsman and Taipan burst out of the clouds at rooftop level, missiles coming off rails to intercept the targets. For most of the ZSU vehicles they had no time to react before getting blasted away by explosive warheads. One or two survived by a thread and did not try to open fire on the Osean aircraft again.

'AAA batteries destroyed.' Captain Webber had done a good job, he decided. 'Engaging the fuckin' robot launchers.' Webber and Taipan moved to the port with bombs armed for a guaranteed kill. Above, the Panthers lased the targets.

'_Targets lit, cleared hot Huntsman_.'

Webber confirmed he had the laser locked and dropped his bombs, a pair of GBU-12 500lb bombs. 'Bombs away.' The GBU spiralled towards an opening cargo container. An MQ-99 could be seen suspended on rails popping out from the top of the container. Before it could launch in a puff of steam, the bombs hit dead on the target and blew both it and the personnel around it to pieces in a flash and puff of debris. Elsewhere in the port, Taipan's GBUs had the same effect.

'_Afirm, active targets destroyed.'_ Taipan said from the cockpit of his F-15E.

'Port is clear, Wolf Squad returning to barrier position.' Webber and Taipan came towards the space elevator to assist other squads with protecting the local airspace. Below them, a pair of CH-47F Chinooks flew over the water surface, on approach for the base of the elevator. The Sea Goblin rescue crew. Around sixty Marines. They would be joined by an additional twenty from Metal Team once their Osprey made it to the area.

'_All squads, provide air support if possible for the marines on the ground._' Sky Keeper said to the various fighter squads. Easier said than done for most, since only Wolf Squad were equipped with anti-ground weaponry.

'_Sky Keeper, none of us are armed for anti-ground. Once Sea Goblin lands, it's up to them_.' Knocker, Golem Squad's leader, said what most of the pilots were thinking. _Let's give the Eruseans a run for their money then, _Webber thought to himself.

'Panther, Wolf, requesting laser designation for infantry targets.'

'_That's cutting it close captain. You sure you want to engage?_' Haunter made sure that Webber was certain he and his wingmate could pull the maneuver off.

'Wouldn't have asked if I wasn't confident.'

'_Copy. First target, sniper position on the cranes around the coast.' _

'Acquired. Huntsman, engaging.' Webber dived towards the target. His targeting pod detected the laser quickly, informing him that he could drop a GBU. Webber did, and as he banked upwards to avoid smacking into the floor, he saw an explosion right on the money. Target destroyed.

'Target destroyed.'

'_Second target, cluster of infantry surrounding a VTOL. Lased._'

'Seen.' This specific target was on a helipad suspended above the ground level. Webber dived again on what he was trying to hit. While there were no dedicated air-defences left, the soldiers on the ground saw the approaching F-15 and fired their rifles and LMGs at it. While they wouldn't be able to cause any significant damage, Webber swore he heard a bullet bounce off the front of his canopy glass as he dropped a GBU. The GBU hit the Osprey resting on the helipad right in the cabin, going through, passing into the ground below and exploding. Nailed.

'Don't think they survived that one. Waiting for new targets.'

'_Negative, wave off. Sea Goblin has arrived.'_

'Copy, Huntsman disengaging.' Webber flew upwards to gain altitude in case of any drones attacking. He was curious. The airspace around the space elevator was supposed to be protected by a minimum of one Arsenal Bird. _Where the fuck is it?_, Webber said to himself subconsciously. There weren't even any MQ-101 drones defending.

* * *

On the ground, Goblin 1 and Goblin 2 touched down in an open area. The rear doors of the dual main rotor helicopters opened and out came a gagglefuck of medics and Marines. Each man was dubiously equipped, with decked out HK416 rifles, bulletproof vests, helmets and enough ammo to last through an entire siege. One of the first into the tropical air of the region was First Lieutenant Thomas Hewlett, leader of the overall Sea Goblin ground unit. Rifle with underbarrel grenade launcher in hand, Hewlett used hand signals to direct the men behind him to get to cover. There was black smoke rising from several points around the area, product of destroyed vehicles and structures. He and his command group sprinted away from the helicopters to a 360 security position. Bullets from surviving Erusean soldiers cracked overhead. The Oseans got the first ground kill, Hewlett blasting someone away with a 40-mike-mike grenade. Members from the various squads assembled in their positions to set security around the helicopters. They shot at any hostiles that moved close. This lasted for a mere 10 seconds while everyone disembarked. Hewlett was tapped by his platoon sergeant, who indicated that both squads had disembarked.

'Goblin 1, Goblin 2, Siren Actual, clear to lift off!' Hewlett had to shout to get above the noise of gunfire and helicopter engines. Without an answer the two Chinooks lifted off and went to form a holding pattern around the elevator. The M134D miniguns that the Chinooks were armed with spat out hot brass and tracers as the crew chiefs of the helicopters lit up groups of Eruseans shooting at the marines. Once the noise had gone to levels where Hewlett could hear and talk, he issued orders.

'Siren 5-1, Siren 6-1, move to the barrier!' The gagglefuck sprinted forward, some elements staying put to provide covering fire while the rest ran for some hesco-blocks and concrete roadblocks. The lieutenant ran with the main body of the group to the barriers. One of the helicopters contacted him mid-stride.

'_Siren Actual, Goblin 1, we've located Harling and the officer! They're hiding in an alcove near the centre of the space elevator.' _

Once Hewlett made it to cover he responded. 'Roger, Siren elements bounding towards the VIP's location!' He leaned over the concrete barrier he was hiding behind and popped off a couple of shots, hitting someone in the distance. 'Siren 5-1 and 5-2, Siren Actual, assemble on my location at the concrete!'

The two element leaders, a pair of sergeants, quickly found their way to the officer. Their names were Mayworth and Lewis based off the nametags on their platecarriers. 'What's up boss?' Mayworth said when he arrived.

'Mayworth, your team and I are going to bound across the area over to the centre. The VIP and his escort are there waiting. Lewis, get your men to hold this position and cover us as we go over. Tell your men and get ready to bust ass!'

'Copy' was the reply from both team sergeants. Hewlett smiled and continued to fire random shots whenever he got the chance. So far, no losses to them. A minute later, Mayworth and his team, Siren 5-2, assembled near Hewlett.

'Set!' Mayworth called over radio.

'_Set!_' Lewis responded.

'Alright, GO!' Hewlett vaulted over the barrier along with 5-2. The SAW gunners and riflemen in 5-1 unleashed a torrent of fire everywhere where there was an enemy presence. The suppression locked down the Eruseans from firing back at the advancing 5-2 element. 5-2 moved quickly for all the gear they were carrying, succeeding to make it to the main ground body of the space elevator in just under ten seconds.

'Contact right!' Hewlett's platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class Jester Goodwill, called out while firing on full-auto at the soldiers he had seen. Part of 5-2's right flank stopped, crouched and fired more precise shots, quickly killing or injuring the group they had seen. The rest kept sprinting while suppressing from their own location when possible. In another 10 seconds the element made it halfway to the location of Harling and the officer escorting him. The first casualty to the Osean force came when one of the riflemen on the left flank was hit in the chest and knocked down. Hewlett saw the man get downed.

'Keep going!' He called to 5-2, then himself running to get the wounded soldier to cover. One of the group's four medics came to tend to the guy as well as a pair of other riflemen and Hewlett's platoon JTAC. Hewlett and one riflemen dragged the rifleman by his armpits to behind a flipped over Caiman MRAP while the others shot the Eruseans who had shot the wounded rifleman. Once behind that MRAP, the medic got to work, checking the spot where the guy had been shot. Hewlett and the others continued to fire at hostiles converging on their position.

'Sir!' One of the escorting riflemen called out to the lieutenant. 'Tanks on the bridge, 9'o-clock!' Hewlett looked to his left to see what the rifleman was talking about. Indeed, there were Erusean main battle tanks crossing the bridge from the city to the space elevator to eliminate the attacking Oseans.

'Jackson!' Hewlett shouted to his JTAC. 'Call for fire support on the tanks crossing the bridge!' Jackson looked and saw the tanks, pulled out a book from a pocket on the side of his radio bag, checking for coordinates and available strike packages.

'Huntsman, Dagger, requesting fire mission, over!'

* * *

In the air, Webber heard the call. 'Roger Dagger, send details.'

'_Fire mission as follows. Target is a pair of main battle tanks crossing the bridge, grid coordinates 1534003013, moving south-east. Requesting 500 pound bomb drop, target will be lased, confirm fire mission._' The JTAC knew what he was doing.

'Two tanks, 15340-03013 heading south-east, two times GBU-12, confirmed.' Webber read back what he had just been told.

'_Roger. Huntsman, you're cleared hot._' Now Webber could actually attack the tanks with confirmation. He maneuvered into position coming from the east to strike them down. He had a lase.

'Bombs away.' With both GBUs away, Webber pulled up to a safer altitude and circled around, waiting for a BDA.

'_Both targets destroyed. Thanks for the assist._'

* * *

Both tanks had basically been thrown off the bridge into the water from the force of the explosives that hit them. No longer a threat.

'5-2, Actual, have you gotten the VIP?' Hewlett, behind cover, contacted Mayworth.

'_Both Harling and Colonel Johnson, moving back to 5-1's position now!'_ The wizzles, cracks and pops of gunfire going over their heads could be heard over the radio.

'Meet you there.' Hewlett put away his radio. 'Corporal, can you move?' He asked the rifleman that had been shot. He was propped against the back of the MRAP with his platecarrier opened for the medic to see the extent of damage.

'Winded, but I'll live sir.' The soldier was out of breath, but he could move as evident by the fact that the man stood up and changed magazines for his HK416.

'Good, let's go.' Hewlett slung his rifle and helped support the rifleman. The other riflemen, Jackson and the medic readied for a bound back to their landing zone. There was a delay of about ten seconds before they actually did bound. They only did so when 5-2 passed them, VIPs in tow in the centre of the group.

* * *

'_Goblin Flight, Siren Actual, we have the VIPs, requesting extract at RZ Alpha!'_ The rescue below was going along better than planned. Grimm flew circles around the space elevator, ready for enemy reinforcements. So far, nothing. The CH-47 helicopters approached the site at which they had landed where a full squad of marines were holding. A pilot from one of the Fort Greys squadrons saying something distracted Grimm from looking at the rescue effort on the ground.

'_Sky Keeper, new bogies on radar, bearing 220!_' Knocker, Golem 1.

'_Sighting confirmed as MQ-101, forerunner for Arsenal Bird!_' Sky Keeper confirmed the contact.

'Figured it'd show up at some point.' Grimm mused to himself. Actually, he was surprised it took so long for the bloody thing to come to the space elevator. 'Mythic, Wolf Squad, head on to engage drones.'

'_Mythic, engaging.' _The quiet but confident voice of 2LT Sara Hunter.

'_Huntsman, engaging!'_ By comparison, CPT Michael Webber's voice was louder and carried more charisma with it.

'_Taipan engaging_.' Taipan's words went by so fast that everyone else almost missed it. Combined, the 242nd Fighter Squadron formed into one single flight and at a stand-off distance started firing long-range AMRAAMs into the many MQ-101s on approach. The other squads - Mage, Golem, Gargoyle and Panther - elected to close the distance and dogfight against the drones. The first dogfights started just as the 242nd's wave of AMRAAMs hit their targets. It barely took a chunk out of the numbers of the 100 or so drones.

'Titan, Wolf, keep hitting them. We'll thin their numbers one at a time if we have to.' Grimm released more AMRAAMs at the drones along with the rest of his squad.

In the brunt of the fight, Haunter hit the first wave like a hammer with off-vectoring Sidewinders nailing the drones that passed to the sides and behind her. Bullet went with the more stand-off approach, engaging from the maximum effective range of his Sidewinders. Three drones decided they weren't having any of his shit and came to intercept the Navy pilot. Bullet managed to cap one at close range but two more joining the engagement forced him to engage in his main combative weak point, dogfighting. He was placed in a bad position right off the start when a missile coming from the front detonated off his right, blasting off the tip of the wing and spraying a thick black opaque liquid onto the side of his canopy.

'Fuck. This is Panther 2, I need assistance.' Despite his situation, Bullet was calm. A missile alert blared. Bullet started deploying countermeasures. They worked partially but that missile also detonated near the airframe, poking holes all through the top of his aircraft. The canopy cracked from shrapnel strikes. The final death blow for Bullet came when a drone came from his front, cannon blazing. The shells passed clean through the canopy and into Bullet's unarmoured body. 30mm explosive shells exploded inside the cockpit, spraying parts of the now-dead pilot onto the inside of the canopy in a wash of red before the F-35 exploded, crippled and broken. Talon saw Bullet's aircraft explode before she could make it to his aid, and cursed.

'Panther 2 down. Don't see a parachute.' Talon avenged the death of her wingmate by blasting away the drone that had killed him. Four of the MQ-101s formed up behind Talon. She locked on and fired with Sidewinders, the missiles zipping off behind her and taking out two drones. The X model of Sidewinders were capable of being shot at extreme angles from aircraft equipped with HMDs like the F-35. Down to two interceptors, an Air Force F/A-18F shot by and managed to hit those two and bring them down. Talon didn't have the time to thank the pilot because immediately afterwards she went to chase a lone MQ-101 that was heading for the space elevator. This one appeared to be different. It was black instead of the usual grey-white and possessed orange wingtips. In addition it was moving much faster than a normal drone would, even at full speed. Talon closed the distance and fired a pair of missiles at it. About halfway through intercept, the drone pulled off a maneuver that she would only expect an advanced fighter to do. It did a sharp barrel roll to face in Talon's direction and with a laser weapon of some sort intercepted and destroyed Talon's missiles before they could hit the now-still MQ-101. To make things worse, that drone then focused the laser weapons and some quick-moving missiles onto Talon's plane. Unable to avoid the lasers, they cut into the metal of the hull like it was butter. Various alerts played, varying from fire alert to system malfunctions as the aircraft was turned into swiss cheese around her. Talon was not about to go down so easily however and utilised her still functioning cannon pod to release a stream of shells at the enemy drone. She managed to hit the damn thing before it shot off to avoid taking any more damage. That left the missiles which were quickly converging on Talon. The latter dived and turned around to get some distance from the missiles, dropping chaff and flares. They seemed to be unaffected by the decoys and continued on a direct course. Down to her last resort, Talon dropped something from her weapons bay and shut off her active systems at the same time, banking away while doing so. The thing dropped was a radar-emitting decoy designed to make a replica of the F-35 on radar. While originally designed for the Typhoon, the OMDF had integrated a similar system to the newer F-35Cs in the fleet. This worked, distracting one of the missiles and throwing it off-course to explode elsewhere. However, there was still the second missile to avoid. Talon had no time to register the missile exploding a fair distance away, because the pieces of heated metal tearing through the airframe, canopy, into critical systems and into the neck, arm, chest and legs of the naval aviator. Talon screamed and flinched as those metal fragments broke both bones in her right arm as well as opening her uniform and skin like a zipper down her body. In that moment she passed out for a minute or two. Three things saved her. Firstly, the automatic fire extinguisher putting out a fire in the engine and weapons bay so the aircraft wouldn't explode automatically. Secondly, an autopilot system pulling her out of a death spiral heading for the ocean surface. Finally, her squad leader Haunter engaging the special drone in a dogfight. Lieutenant-Commander Ashley North had seen her number 2 and brother get downed. She also witnessed Talon get shredded by the drone. This battle was not going well for VFA-051. By god, the leader would save at least one of her wingmates.

The MQ-101 was damaged, if only slightly, and was now coming over to finish off Talon. Haunter got close before the drone fired more missiles and released a stream of missiles and cannon fire at it. The missiles missed as the drone did a high-g turn to evade, but the shells were faster and caught the drone roughly at the seam where its port wing folded. The connection damaged, that wing sheared off which put the MQ-101 into a death spiral. However, it still maintained some control on its pitch. This was a bad thing for Haunter. As the drone spiralled around to face Haunter, it pitched up to face the approaching F-35 and shot one beam from its laser at her. A dead-on hit. The laser pierced the canopy and hit Haunter square in the gut, just below the ribcage, blasting open a hole in her abdomen and severing her spine. Haunter grunted as a stream of blood was forced out through her throat and mouth. The blood got stuck in her helmet. In that moment, Haunter realised that she was doomed to death after looking at the wound. Even if blood loss and organ damage didn't kill her, she couldn't move her legs to operate the rudder pedals. Haunter ripped off her helmet with blood streaming down her chin and looked at Talon's smoking F-35.

'Ad Astra.' Haunter said to herself, punching the throttle to maximum and pointing the nose at the drone. 'Come here you fuck.' The last thing that Haunter saw was the nose of her F-35 colliding with the body of the MQ-101, tearing through it. Flames consumed both aircraft and suddenly all Haunter saw was black.

In the back of Goblin 1, a team of four medics were inspecting their special cargo for injuries. Lieutenant Hewlett had his HK416 leveled out of the back of the Chinook, intending to shoot any drone that snuck up behind them. 5-5-6 wouldn't do anything to the metal frames of an MQ-101, but a last resort was better than nothing.

'Sir, any double vision, headaches, chest pains of any sort?' The most senior of the medics was questioning Harling. Colonel Johnson, the officer, was onboard Goblin 2.

'I'm fine thank you. Not my first rodeo.' Harling was collected but looked relieved to not be in the middle of enemy territory anymore. 'Where are we going?'

Hewlett answered while not averting his gaze out back. 'The aircraft carrier _Kestrel _sir. Should be a half-hour flight.'

Talon came back to life to find a sharp pain in her forearm and blood pouring out of many wounds she had inflicted. Several indicators and alerts were going off. She needed to get out of the combat zone and back to the carrier. Talon coughed up some blood and hit the transmitter for the radio.

'Panther 3 damaged,' A pain in her ribcage caused her to stop for a second to recompose herself. 'Returning to ship.'

Grimm tore through a drone, bringing his tally up to twenty kills, the highest of all aircraft currently in the AO. Beside him, Mythic crippled a drone and properly destroyed another, bringing her own tally to ten. The various air squadrons had managed to destroy about half of the attackers but many aircraft were starting to run out of ammo, and they had inflicted some losses of their own. Panther had been rendered ineffective with two and a half losses, Golem had lost one and Gargoyle were down from eight to four. Speaking of Gargoyle.

'_Attention, Gargoyle Squadron, Babel, Babel, Babel._' Gargoyle 1 started saying over the net the air coalition was using.

'_Gargoyle 3 to Babel.'_

'_Babel, roger.'_

A single Gargoyle aircraft fired long-range missiles aimed at the space elevator. A drone detected the missiles heading for their source of power and placed itself in the path of the missiles, exploding in a fireball but keeping the space elevator safe. The rest of Gargoyle Squadron followed, firing almost all of their remaining weapon reserves at the space elevator. In response a larger swarm of drones took most of the missile hits. There were a lot of explosions and destroyed MQ-101s, but one missile made it through the swarm and impacted the white construction material of the windbreak. The F-14D squadron found itself chased by drones, which a Mage pilot in an F-16 chased and destroyed. Based off the tail markings, it was Trigger. Grimm saw Trigger chasing after Gargoyle. What followed next was a series of events that Grimm would later admit to not having a clue what happened.

A stream of cannon fire came from Trigger's F-16. It poured into the F-14 of the Gargoyle pilot that had managed to hit the elevator.

'_I've been hit-_' The pilot's desperate screams were cut off by the F-14 falling apart in a stream of flame. Trigger didn't attempt to shoot down the other pilots and broke off to do his own thing again.

'Trigger, the fuck?!' Grimm contacted the Mage pilot over the radio.

'_We have people up there who need a way back._' Trigger's voice was quiet, disturbed, as if he understood what he had just done. _'It had to be done. I hope you can understand sir.'_

'Jesus Christ.' Grimm muttered to himself.

'_All aircraft, Sea Goblin is safely out of the AO. Return to base_.' Sky Keeper.

Grimm opened a comms link with Captain Webber. 'Michael.'

'_Yeah, I saw it too. Me and Taipan are sticking to his ass._' Huntsman had predicted Grimm's orders before he said them.

'Rog. I'll stick below him.'

* * *

**Spring Sea**

**Aircraft carrier OFS _Kestrel II _**

Talon's breathing was shaky and her vision fading and going to grey. Blood had soaked her flight suit, fatigues and cockpit. Controlling the F-35 with one hand was easy but could prove testing over long distances. On her right wing, Luna guided Talon down in his F/A-18E.

'_Kestrel, Razor 5, get a medical and recovery on the deck ASAP. Pilot and aircraft are in red condition.' _

Luna pulled off at the last possible second to avoid smashing into the superstructure of the _Kestrel II. _Talon touched down on the deck, the bouncing aggrevating her arm and profuse blood loss. She almost passed out then and there. Luckily she had caught the wire so she didn't slip off the deck. The last thing she did with the last of her strength was to throttle down and turn off the engine before passing out.


	21. Chapter 20 - Comeback

Onboard the damaged _Pilgrim_, Captain Kei Nagase gathered the crew in the medical bay, the best currently open area to conduct a crew briefing. The remaining crew of roughly 30 were arranged around the chair she was sitting on, an IV rack attached to her. Kei's right arm was slung around her chest.

'54 dead. Vented atmosphere in most of E deck.' Her opening statement referred to the damage they had taken. 'Sergeant Stone, I commend you and your department for bringing most of our systems back online.'

'Thank you ma'am.'

'Contact from mission command came in today. We were targeted and hit by an Erusean warship. They believe we were fired on in error, but all things considered I don't believe that for a second. Doctor Hubert?'

'Hmm?' Hubert looked up from the folder he was reading.

'Two things. One, since Captain Davis and all of the other officers are dead, congratulations you are now the executive officer.' Some claps from around the room. Kei smiled. 'And two, were you aware of your country's intention for war prior?'

'Hard to say captain. There were prominent anti-Osea people in power when we left in 2012. But considering the regime change recently, anything's possible.'

'I'll take your word for it. Hell, most of us owe being alive right now to you.'

'Wouldn't go that far.' Hubert was being modest about it.

'Anyway. Current orders are to repair any critical damage and sit tight. The Osean Defence Forces are working on a plan to push back the Eruseans so we can get down via the space elevator. That is all.'

* * *

**Twinkle Islands**

Blaze, Snow, Mobius and Yellow were watching the news on a TV feed in the officer's mess.

'_...and in recent news, the Osean Defence Forces have successfully rescued ex-President Harling from captivity in Erusean territory._'

Blaze raised an eyebrow. 'For the third fucken time.' Next to him, Snow chuckled

'_His condition is reported to be stable._'

'Tough fella.' Yellow noted, sipping on a bottle of water. The door to the mess bay opened and in came one of the plane crew chiefs.

'Commander Williams, Commander Snow?' He asked, reading from a clipboard he brought with him. Blaze waved a hand and the chief came over. 'Sir, the Osean Navy called in. They're requesting the presence of both of you at Fort Greys Island.'

'That's a long distance for a Flanker and a Tomcat. Any IFR support along the way?' Blaze asked.

'A carrier might be providing tanking past Tyler Island. Past that, anyone's guess.

'Rog. Thank you chief.' The chief nodded and left the room. Blaze looked at Snow. 'If it's Fort Greys, situation's probably urgent. We better go.'

'Agreed. Navy's always urgent about this stuff.' The pair stood up. Before they left, Blaze offered a hand to Yellow.

'Thanks for having us, sir. And as an avid fan of Yellow Squadron, welcome back to the living.'

'Easy, and thank you.' Yellow shook his hand and went to finish his water as the Razgriz pilots exited the room and went down to the hangars. Since they had long since learnt their way around the base, it only took a few minutes to get from the mess to the hangar their aircraft were stored in.

Some minutes later, Razgriz 1 and Razgriz 3 shot up into the skies and banked east. Expected travel time was about five hours. Their flight plan would take them in between the gauntlet at Tyler Island and Gunther Bay.

* * *

**Naval Station Oured**

**Oured, Osea**

At full capacity, time taken to repair the damage to _Vulture _would take three months. Impressive for a supercarrier but still a lot of time for a war in effect. And before that could happen, various investigation personnel would have to find out the extent of the damage and figure out what caused it. A week in, someone had figured out that the damage was caused by an internal explosion. The investigation focused on checking rosters to see who was on duty in the magazines at the time of the explosion. Much of the weapon handlers were on duty at the time, killing most of them. One of the survivors had noted that he saw a pilot come into the area when he was shuffling a rack of AAMs to the flight deck. This led into another investigation, this time of the pilots then assigned to the _Vulture. _This turned out to be impossible from their position as all of the pilots who survived the incident were now either dead or assigned to other aircraft carriers in the Spring Sea. In the office of the leader of the investigation team, a handful of senior officers and _Vulture's _CAG, Commander Turnell.

'...Commander, can you name any pilots who you knew were not in the weapons magazine?'

'I know that Williams, Lieutenant-Commander North, Lieutenant North and Atkins were coming off a CAP rotation as the explosion happened, so it wasn't any of them. I was talking to Keith at the time in my office as well, so those five are safe.' The situation was like a board meeting.

'That leaves,' One of them flipped through a notepad to check the pilots roster. 'Davis from Panther, Edwards, Darach, Whitestone and Lennox from Razor and the rest of Hawk and Hammer.'

'Unlikely to be Talon,' Turnell interjected. 'The damage control chief mentioned something about her assisting with containing the damage.'

'And we can't question anyone from Hawk or Hammer Squads. Both were wiped out during the Farbanti assault.' The leader. He sighed and rubbed his face. 'Commander, prior to the incident did you notice any irregularities in any of your pilots?'

'Lieutenant-Commander Williams and Lieutenant Nicholas, but as I said Williams was still in the air at the time.'

'What behaviours did Nicholas exhibit prior?'

'After the war started, Nicholas changed. He was a fairly social person prior. But after, he became more reserved and secluded from everyone else.' Turnell explained.

'And what about Williams?'

Turnell frowned. 'Williams is an odd one. When we were docked here back in May, he was a contractor mechanic working on old aircraft on the airfield.'

'I'm gonna stop you there for a second. A civilian?'

'You heard me.'

'And you also say that he is a Lieutenant-Commander. A reservist?'

'Sir, have you heard of the Four Wings of Sand Island? The 108th Air Force Squadron?'

'The Wardogs? Vaguely-' The officer stopped himself before continuing. 'Captain Williams. Wardog 1. Blaze. But he was declared KIA during an incident over the Ceres Ocean.'

'Or so the story goes. They survived. Blaze became that mechanic but took an unmanned Hornet and helped repel the attack. After our deployment order came through, he stayed with us.'

'This just got a hell of a lot more complicated then.'

* * *

**Spring Sea, south of Usean continent**

'No tanker here. Looks like we're running on our own.' On radar and ESM, there weren't any friendlies in the area. There wasn't anyone at all except for the F-14D and the Su-33M3. Blaze checked his fuel gauge. Just over halfway empty.

**Fort Greys Island**

'Sir, we've got two unidentified aircraft approaching the base from the west.' A radar system operator reported. An officer came over and checked it. Indeed two aircraft with no IFF active. The officer checked for friendly planes in the air. There were six aircraft nearby, two of which were returning. The other four were on CAP and tagged as Titan aircraft. Typhoons.

'Titan 1, Command Room, two unknown aircraft approaching the base from bearing 265. Intercept and ID.'

'_Archer copies, moving.' _

In the air above the base, Grimm and a group of three other pilots banked and went west to ID the two aircraft. 'Vulcan, Shark, go low and cut them off from below. Ash, you're with me.'

'_Rog.'_

'_Copy.'_

'_Copy.'_

Grimm and Ash climbed to intercept height at 10,000 metres while Vulcan and Shark dropped to 2,000 metres. They would ID and if necessary trap the fighters. Because of the distance between the base and them, at max speed actually getting into visual distance would take between 5 to 10 minutes. Grimm took the lead, missiles at the ready just in case. A few minutes later, Grimm saw the outline of the two aircraft in the distance. Even at that range, the major was able to identify them as a Flanker variant and a Tomcat. Grimm opened the public radio.

'Unidentified aircraft, this is Titan Squadron of the Osean Air Defence Force, state ID and intentions or you will be subject to lethal force.'

Some kilometres ahead, Blaze groaned and switched off his radio as a high-pitched electronic whine came through the headset mounted underneath his helmet. He cursed. In the distance he saw a pair of interceptors. Typhoons. _This isn't fucking good, _Blaze thought to himself. He was being jammed by something and now there were fighters ahead that weren't transmitting an IFF signature. Not taking any chances, Blaze rolled and dived to avoid anything that was coming his way.

Grimm saw the Flanker dive away from the fighters without giving a response over on radio.

'Vulcan, Shark, Flanker heading your way!' Grimm chased after the Tomcat that wasn't responding either. The two zipped past each other and Grimm got the information that he needed. _An Osean F-14?_ He turned around and moved so that he was almost touching the wingtips of the Tomcat. The markings dictated that the F-14 was indeed Osean, and a navy one at that judging by the squadron emblem and letters on the tail. Grimm read the name underneath the lip of the canopy. _CMDR Marcus Snow 'Swordsman'. _

'Why aren't you responding…' There was clearly a pilot in the F-14 and they could see each other. Grimm set his controls to autopilot and raised both hands so that Snow could see them. He made hand signals. _ITS ARCHER. FOLLOW US._ Snow nodded and fell back a little to follow the Typhoon.

Below, Blaze saw the Typhoons in front of him on the chase. He almost swore, but quickly realised something. These aircraft had the typical Osean grey paint pattern. Blaze quickly popped a Cobra to drop speed and get close to the fighters. He saw one go behind him and the other formed to the right. Both bore the Osean flag. Friendlies.

'_Major, the Flanker has stopped running.' _Vulcan reported.

'What markings?' Grimm asked.

'_Uhh, wait one.' _There was a pause. '_Black paintjob with flames around the nose, Osean flag, some sort of squadron emblem, looks like your Razgriz marking.'_

'Razgriz marking? Is there a name under the canopy?'

'_Yes sir. Lieutenant-Commander Alex Williams, Blaze._'

Grimm smiled and looked through the floor of the Typhoon. 'He's friendly. Direct the aircraft to the airfield.'

'_Will do._'

Blaze looked into the cockpit of the Typhoon next to him. The pilot was using hand signals. _FRIENDLY PLANES. FOLLOW US._

Blaze nodded and swung behind the leading Typhoon. To his side, two more Typhoons and Snow joined him. Blaze instantly recognised the small emblem underneath the cockpit of the leader. A Razgriz patch next to a bow. Grimm. _They must be based at Fort Greys Island, _he thought.

'ATC, Titan 1, requesting landing permissions on runway 11-Right. Two aircraft without comms to follow.'

'_Roger, Titan 1, permission granted, clear to land 11-Right.'_

Grimm, Blaze and Snow approached the airfield from the sea. In the port nearby there were quite a few vessels, including a grounded carrier, the FCU Navy vessel _Albatross. _Others included the carriers _Kestrel _and _Hubert. _Grimm touched down first, followed by Blaze and Snow touching the ground at the exact same time a few seconds later. Vulcan, Shark and Ash touched down a minute or two after the ace pilots. They pulled over to some open-air hangars at the edge of the runway where a lot of other Typhoons and F-15Es were parked. They stopped in one roughly in the middle of the cluster. Blaze removed his helmet and powered down the Su-33 as someone on the ground chucked some chocks underneath the wheels. He opened the canopy at the same time as the other two. The orange-haired Grimm came out first, followed by Snow and then Blaze. They convened in the centre.

'Been a while.' Snow called out. Grimm smiled and waved to the two.

'When they told me to expect visitors, I wasn't expecting you guys.' Grimm high-fived Snow. Alex stretched his arms and walked over.

'Barring some jamming coming from a cheeky Erusean fucker, that was pretty uneventful.' Alex noted. 'How goes being a squad lead Major?'

Grimm shrugged. 'The colonel caught that flu that was going around last year. I'm acting CO until whenever he gets back.'

'Answer the bloody question.' Alex said while chuckling.

'Four KIA, one pretty badly banged up. Some of my newer recruits are showing some promise though.'

'Some of?' Snow asked, cracking his neck.

'Vulcan and Ash for two. Mythic is another, but she's probably somewhere else right now.'

'Hmm. Well, we're here now. What's the deal?' Snow.

'Dunno. I wasn't told anything.' Grimm slung his helmet to a loop on his survival vest. 'You better check in with the base commander. Follow me.' The trio exited the hangar and walked across the taxiway to the main group of buildings. A group of pilots were coming out of the building and across to the 242nd hangars. They saluted Grimm as they passed. The latter returned the salute. Other than them, there was a distinct lack of other pilots or RSOs.

'Where is everyone?' Alex asked Grimm as the latter led them into a series of hallways.

'At a court-martial.'

'The entire goddamn wing?'

'Oh, only one guy's being testified against.' Grimm ran a hand through his hair. 'Trigger. Blue-on-blue incident yesterday.'

'Intentional?'

'I'd be surprised if it wasn't. There weren't any hostiles near the guy he shot down.' They came to a halt near a wooden door. The base commander's office. Grimm knocked.

'_Come in!_' A deep voice boomed from the other side. Grimm opened the door and motioned for Alex and Snow to follow him in. The commander was standing at his desk, reading something. He looked up a second later. 'Evening Major. I take it this is Captain Williams and Commander Snow?' The commander looked like the complete opposite of Sand Island's old base commander, Colonel Perrault. This guy looked physically fit, intelligent and judging by the condition of his office and demeanor as to which he met the three, relaxed. He also had a complex tan.

'Well, Lieutenant-Commander now, sir.' Alex recognised the man. The leader of a squadron he and the Wardogs had worked with during Operation Backhaul and Stray Sheep, and later on as the Razgriz during Glory Horn.

'Take a seat, lads.' The colonel said. Alex and Snow walked forward and sat down on some office chairs arranged at the front of his desk. Grimm excused himself and left, leaving the meeting to the three in the room.

'I didn't know the marines were working with the IUN, Dylan.' Alex said something before anyone else could.

'And I didn't know dead aces were working with the Navy, Alex.' Colonel Dylan Cook replied in kind. 'I'm not going to ask how you ended up out here, so let's cut to the chase.'

'Well, we're listening.' Snow leaned back a little in his chair.

'I've got good news and bad news-'

'Bad news.' Alex said instantly.

'Alright. Alex, your squad was wiped clean during Lighthouse Keeper. Lieutenant-Commander Davis was the only survivor and she's currently recovering in the ICU.' Alex sucked in but nodded. 'Marcus, _Hubert _will be transiting back to home for repairs and to pick up some new pilots. You'll probably be out of the loop for a while.'

'When does she leave?' Snow asked.

'1100 hours tomorrow.' Dylan replied, cracking his shoulders.

'So if Panther is down, where does that leave me?' Alex was confused. Without a squadron, he could either be reassigned to another squadron, be left to his own devices, or yeeted out of the military for good.

'Good question. Have you heard of the penal unit theory?'

Alex frowned. 'Remind me again?'

'Convicted felons being assigned to suicide missions not suitable for regular units.'

'Are you implying that I'm a criminal?'

'Oh, christ no.' Dylan put his hands up and shook his head. 'Any prison units need guards. This particular squad, the 444th, made a formal request for you to join as an advisor.'

_Oh no. Ohhhhhhh no, _Alex thought to himself. 'You know what. Fine. I'll transfer over.'

'Easy. I'll contact Colonel McKinsey later to inform him that you'll be shipping over tomorrow.'

'Shipping over? Where the hell are they based?'

'A fake airfield over at Zapland. The area's heavily contested by the Eruseans, but the place attracts attention away from regulars.'

'Riiiiight. Well, if that's all I'm going to take a piss, get something to eat and sleep.' Alex stood up, turned around and left. Snow and Dylan watched him leave.

'Nice to see he's still headstrong.' Dylan noted.

'You have no idea.' Snow replied.


	22. Chapter 21 - The Advisor

When Dylan Cook said shipping out, Alex thought he meant that he would be sent via vessel. To the mercy of the ace pilot, he was permitted to fly over come morning. Alex left in enough of a hurry that he didn't talk to Grimm or Snow before strapping into his Su-33 and zooming off the airfield. Alex's flight to Zapland and the 444 Squad's airbase was uneventful. As he flew over, he noticed the wings worth of equipment and aircraft stored on the ground. A lot more than you would find on a regular airbase. Alex came in for landing.

'444 Tower, Lieutenant-Commander Williams, requesting landing permissions.'

'_Granted, sir. Runway is clear.'_

**June 9, 2019**

**Zapland Air Force Base**

Alex was directed to a half-buried hardened aircraft shelter isolated from the rest of the base. As he taxied over, he noticed that many of the vehicles and planes he had seen from above were either dummies or made from pieces of scrap. Well-crafted in the latter. A deception operation. _Very nice. _A ground crew was waiting for him in the hangar as he came down the ramp into the hangar. There was also a pair of officers flanked on each side by armed security guards. As the crew secured and locked down Alex's Flanker. The latter got out and walked over to the officers. One was a pilot of some sort, the other was probably McKinsey, the base commander.

'Colonel McKinsey?' Alex asked as he approached.

'I take it you're our new advisor.' McKinsey nodded, offering a hand. 'Welcome to the penal unit, commander.'

'Happy to be here.' Alex shook his hand and stood at attention. McKinsey nodded towards the pilot.

'This is Major Caleb Wilde, or Bandog, our second-in-command and AWACS operator.'

'Hi.' Bandog said. Alex smiled and shook the hand of the AWACS man. Straight off the bat he seemed at least a tad more respectable than McKinsey.

'So, you have a pilot looking after mere criminals from what I've been told?' Alex said, curious.

'Correct. They're not an impressive bunch.' McKinsey replied, eager not to piss off Alex.

'Hmm. May I go meet them?'

'Sure. Follow me.' Bandog said. They left McKinsey behind for the place where the prisoners were held. 'Be warned, some of the prisoners we have here are less than sane.'

'Shouldn't be an issue.' They came up to a heavy metal door protected by a group of guards. At the sight of Bandog and Alex, they opened the door for them and then shut it behind them. On the other side were another pair of them. Beyond them was a gate that a guard had to unlock and then a long series of cells. The doors on most were open save for some rusted down cells.

'Prisoner's galley is down this hall, along with the recreational areas and other superficial facilities.' Bandog gave Alex a general guide to this part of the facility.

'I take it everyone is in the mess hall?'

'Yep. You need a guide in there?'

'Nah, I think I've got it from here. Cheers.'

'No worries.' Bandog left Alex to fend for himself for a moment, retreating to the support personnel side of the base. Alex himself walked down the hallway, navigated around a few corners and suddenly found himself in the mess hall. A large group of people looked at him as he entered. Judging by their appearances and uniforms, the prisoners. Alex was unfazed and walked around, scanning the area.

'You lost pal?' One of the prisoners with a square face and neat, light brown hair, called out to him.

'Just looking around.' Alex replied warmly.

'Well will you look at that, it's the jailer's new guard dog.' A stocky man from the same table said loudly. Alex walked over to that table. It was occupied by five people.

'The official title is advisor, but close enough. May I take a seat?' Alex stood next to him. The first man to have spoke shuffled over. 'Thank you.' Alex sat down amongst the gazes of the table.

'Hey, I've seen that patch before.' Another man with long, messy blond hair said to him, looking at a patch on the right of Blaze's uniform. 'The Ghosts of Razgriz. That one squadron from ten years ago. The hell sort of squadron are you from?'

The fourth with cropped black hair looked closely at it, and then at the nametag and rank insignias. 'Huh. Looks like the Razgriz really were Navy.'

'Air Force, actually, but that's a long story for another day.' Alex brushed off his squad emblem. Back at the entrance, Bandog and a guard walked in looking for Alex.

'Commander, a word please?' Bandog asked loudly to make sure that he was heard.

'Yep.' Alex stood up, nodded towards the people he was just talking to and walked over to Bandog. They exited the mess hall and walked into the hallway. Once out of sight of the prisoners, Bandog pulled a card out from a pocket and gave it to Alex, along with a single key. Alex looked at the card. Magnetic strip but the rest of it was plain white. He looked up at Bandog.

'Security access to the base.' He tapped the card in Alex's hand. 'The key's for your room for the other section of this building. There's a meeting for your introduction in an hour. Go explore until then I guess?'

'May as well.' Alex slipped the card and key into the pocket that had his phone in it. Bandog and the guard went back to whatever they were doing. Alex decided to go see what the secure side of the base contained. He went through the gate and the security door. Opposite the prisoner's side was a less reinforced wooden door. Alex opened it and walked in. In contrast of the rough hewn concrete of the cell hallway, in here the floor was made of smooth laminate with dark, plasterboard walls and roof. It extended all the way to a stairwell that went up to the higher levels. Alex drew the kew from before and read the tag on it. _51_. Alex proceeded along the rooms, reading the number and names on each one. He didn't find 51 on the first floor so he went up the staircase to the second floor. 51 was the first room next to the stairwell. On the door was one of those cheap labels you could get from a supermarket in packs of a hundred. _LCDR A. Williams_.

'Hmm.' Alex said to himself, using the key to unlock the door. He turned the doorknob. It turned a tiny bit but then stopped at a certain point. Alex had locked the door by accident.

'Fuck.' He said to himself, actually unlocking the door and walking in. The room was lavishly decorated with a carpet, office desk and computer, a bed with related sheets, pillows and blankets and a connected pantry and bathroom. An officer's room. Alex took a moment to check the dimensions of the room before sitting down at the desk and turning on the computer. A notepad sat next to the keyboard. It had writing on it.

_Alex Williams  
PW - blaze_

_You can change your password on the portal if you wish._

_-MSGT Walker_

A login screen popped up. Alex typed in both the username and the password. It loaded for a second before the main screen came up. The default Osean Defence Force background was loaded, along with a tab open on the internet browser and a Notepad open, again with writing. Alex tabbed onto it and read it.

_Evening Commander,_

_This computer contains all the programs, folders and other files that are relevant to your position of advisor at the 444 Squadron Airbase. Our portal works the same as the regular ODF portal with some extra links. Username and password are the same as mentioned on the note I left you. _

_Ongoing reminders and announcements will be posted on this portal, so keep an eye on it. It is more than likely that any flight rosters will be uploaded there as well. _

_Enjoy your stay._

_-MSGT Walker_

Alex nodded, saved and closed the notepad and then tabbed over to the portal. He logged in and a bunch of notifications hit him right in the face. Staff meetings, general meetings, a flight roster for today's air defence, even a list of all the prisoners that were currently held at the base. Alex clicked onto the general meeting notice. It was in an hour, to be hosted in the mess hall and attended by all prisoners, officers and any relevant enlisted personnel. Alex soaked in all the details. The next thing he opened before getting off the computer was the flight roster. It was going into effect in two hours and had six pilots assigned to it. _Count, Champ, High Roller, Full Band, Tabloid, Blaze. _Alex assumed that he was on that roster. He switched the computer to idle mode and went into the pantry. He got out bread, cheese and a can of tuna to make a sandwich, and complimented it with a bottle of water.

An hour later, Alex walked down to the mess hall. There were 15 guards now instead of the two from before, and all the officers were there, including Colonel McKinsey. His arrival drew the attention of the entire room. Alex paid no mind to it and walked over to the front of the room.

'Alright convicts, as mentioned yesterday, this is the official introduction of your new advisor in the skies.' McKinsey kicked off the meeting. There were some laughs from around the room.

'You get some two-bit reservist from the rear echelon to fill the position?' One said. Everyone else laughed. Alex smiled despite the insult.

'Keystone, if I recall you were a two-bit reservist yourself.' Bandog delivered a burn to the man. Through all that, Alex noticed a woman in the back of the ground staring at him, hard. Alex stared back. She diverted her gaze towards the other officers.

'In light of that, I would like to introduce Lieutenant-Commander Williams.' McKinsey.

'You can call me Blaze.' Alex interjected.

'He's just come off a deployment on the front lines. His words carry the same authority as myself and Bandog. You _will _obey his orders.'

'Hang on, hang on,' The guy with the long and messy hair from before spoke. 'What kind of deployment are we talking about here?'

'Well, he's-' McKinsey started to reply.

'I can answer that.' Alex cut off McKinsey. 'I fought in the Circum-Pacifc War. I helped fight off the drones attacking Oured Bay. Flying from the _Vulture _I sunk an Erusean supercarrier and her fleet. Flown various patrols to counter bombers. Destroyed an airfield deep in enemy territory. Sunk a submarine in a plane. Attacked Farbanti, shot down every last member of Erusea's top ace squadron. I've got the experience, the know-how and I can assure you that if any of you try to shoot me in the back, you will die.' Alex took a step back and nodded. There were whistles from some of the prisoners.

'Well spoken, commander. That is all. You may return to your duties.' As quickly as the meeting had started, the meeting ended. Alex stayed behind for a moment.

'Also, flight operations begin in an hour. Count, Champ, High Roller, Full Band and Tabloid, you are the pilots for today.'

'Sky time? Hell yeah.' The long-haired man said, walking off.

'I kinda want to see how this new advisor guy flies.' An orange-haired man said after him. From the back, he looked like Grimm. Alex cracked his neck and went looking for the hangars. Didn't take long, they were directly across from the buildings that he was standing in. Inside were a variety of aircraft, from Flankers, Fulcrums to Super Hornets and Mirages. Alex's own Flanker had been towed over there to his surprise, finding the black plane with flames around the nose in the middle of the formation. Around his own plane were the aircraft that were going to be used by his convict wingmen. Alex was looking at the aircraft when a single mechanic appeared from behind the Mirage in the group, surprising the former. Alex recognised the mechanic as the lady he had stared down in the meeting.

'You admiring my work?' She said something before Alex could.

'Yep. You're a mechanic?'

'Grudgingly.'

'Grudgingly?'

'Well,' The mechanic checked the landing gear of the blue Su-33 they were standing under. 'I'm not an officially qualified mechanic.'

'Passion?' Alex stepped back towards his own Su-33.

'Yep. You know, I built an F-104 with my bare fucking hands.'

Alex nodded. 'From scratch?'

'From scratch. But then the war started, I got blasted out of the skies and accused of aviation violations and here I am.'

'Sounds like you drew the short straw.' Alex turned his head out to the runway and saw a group of five people entering the hangar under the escort of an equal group of guards. They had pilot gear on, helmets slung under their arms or mounted to heads.

'Oh, so the advisor is actually flying with us.' Count said as he approached in the centre of the group. Alex walked over to the ladder of his Su-33.

'It would be bad form if I didn't.' He started climbing up until the last step. The others zipped over to their planes.

'What the hell are we doing upstairs anyway?' High Roller asked as he put on his helmet and went up the ladder to the cockpit of his F-16C. Alex didn't answer immediately, waiting to get into the cockpit and powering up the engine and everything else on the plane. He slipped on his helmet, tapped the mouthpiece.

'Spare Squadron, can you hear me?'

'_Yep.' _Count said first followed by everyone else.

'High Roller, in all honesty I have no idea. Guess we'll know once we get up.' Alex boosted his engines to roll out of the hangar. The convicts followed shortly after.

'_Well, that's reassuring._' Tabloid was right behind Alex's Su-33. He flew a Mirage 2000.

'Tower, Spare Squadron, requesting take off permissions.'

'_Granted, Commander, clear to taxi and take off._'

'Follow me people.' Alex turned onto the taxiway, went down a little bit, turned onto the proper runway and took off from there, a heatwave emitting from behind the aircraft. Another Su-33, a MiG-29, an F-16, an F/A-18E and a Mirage 2000 followed the black and flames Su-33M3 into the clear blue skies around the Zapland region. Alex switched his HMD on to make sure that his tracking data and IFF was working.

'_Commander Williams, this is Bandog, can you hear me?_' Bandog was contacting Alex.

'Loud and clear. What's our mission?'

'_Do some laps around the region. It is expected that Erusean bombers will be attacking the base.' _Bandog was speaking on a private channel exclusive to Alex and other ranking officers.

'Copy, running CAP.' Alex switched to the channel that his wingmen were operating on. 'Good evening Spare Squadron, this is your advisor speaking. Today's aerial operations will be protecting this base from hostile bombers and attackers.'

'_Did nobody tell him?' _Full Band said jokingly.

'Apparently they didn't tell me a lot of things. What did I miss this time?' Alex sighed. _Guess I'll be learning as I go. _

'_The jailer doesn't trust prisoners like us with weapons. Our fire-control systems are locked._' Count answered Alex's question.

'Well that's fuckin' unfair.' Alex took a moment to think of something. 'Have you guys gone up before?'

'_Yep._' The reply was universal.

'Doing what? Acting as fancy targets?'

'_Yep.'_ Again, the reply was universal. If Alex could reach through his canopy, down to the control room back at base and strangle the base commander, he absolutely would.

'Fuck.' Alex banked over to see the wings of his wingmen. They had armed missiles. 'Do what you can for now and try not to get shot down.' The squadron split off from each other to cover a broad area above and around the base. From a distance, Alex watched the movement and actions of the men he was meant to be watching. He noticed that the Su-33 pilot, Count, moved more fluidly than the others even at normal pace. One of the better pilots, he assumed. After a couple of boring hours in the skies with the sun going down, Alex had almost zoned out.

'_All Spare Squadron fighters, new series of contacts bearing 350, altitude 150. Appears to be a group of Erusean fighter-bombers._' Bandog piped up. Alex woke up from his stir and started moving to the north.

'Copy, Spare intercepting. Let's go.' Blaze dived towards the ground until he was almost kissing it with the bottom of his air intakes. The others followed closely behind, if at a higher altitude.

'_Huh, the leader likes to take things risky eh?' _Champ was looking at Blaze from up above.

'_Probably an intimidation tactic. Anyone want to bet that he crashes?' _High Roller.

'By all means, you're welcome to lose money.' Blaze weaved through lightposts and trees before popping up at a short range of five kilometres from the Erusean attackers. The enemy group appeared to be flying a mixture of MiG-29As and F-15E fighters. Blaze switched to and armed a full set of Sidewinder missiles. While the others had their fire control locked and shut down, Blaze had no such restrictions. Two pairs of missiles rapidly shot off rails into the front fighters, the fighter escorts. All four connected with their targets, sending the fighters smashing into the semi-arid floor. As the Fulcrums burnt, Blaze shot over the Eagles before they could register their escorts being shot down. High Roller and Full Band had followed him through on the attack, roaring overhead. Blaze turned in a 180 to get on the ass of the Eagles. They all spread out to get away from the defenders. Blaze went after the closest. While a nimble fighter, the Eagle pilot couldn't evade the Flanker. A Sidewinder tore off one of its wings, quickly followed by a second that dealt the killing blow. He quickly switched to the second out of six Eagles, blasting through the canopy with a cannon burst. The remaining four Eagles were all spread out from each other but still heading towards the base. Blaze found a use for his longer-range AMRAAMs here, firing from a distance at the Eagle the furthest away. A killing blow as the F-15E failed to evade and took a missile in the midsection, exploding into two pieces. F-15s number four and five suffered the same punishment. Number six managed to evade the two AMRAAMs that Blaze fired at him.

'Count, Champ, cut off his attack!' Blaze was racing after the enemy at max speed. But at only Mach 2.3, he was unable to catch up to the F-15E's Mach 2.6 in a straight run.

'_On it._' Ahead of him, an Su-33 and a MiG-29 cut across the path of the F-15. By instinct the pilot banked off to the side to chase the fighter that almost hit him. Blaze saw this happening on radar.

'He's on your tail, bring him back towards me.' Blaze could actually catch up now. Champ turned his nose towards Blaze. The latter cycled to Sidewinders and waited to catch a lock tone. He gained one quickly. 'Break!' Champ cobra'ed and flew in a different direction. In the nanosecond after that Blaze loosed off a Sidewinder. At such a close range, Blaze wasn't surprised when the missile connected and crippled the Eagle. He pulled off to make sure he wasn't rammed. The F-15 exploded just before it hit the ground below.

'_Nice one.' _Tabloid saw the kill and complemented him.

'_So, our new advisor isn't a useless pilot.' _Full Band followed after.

'All observed targets destroyed. Waiting for orders.' Blaze gained some altitude and leveled off at around 2000 metres.

'_That was quick. Remain on station until relieved._' Bandog replied quickly. Blaze checked his watch. They still had half an hour. He sat back as much as he could in the seat. That time passed quickly and around that time the squadron was called back to base. Blaze was the last down. It was dark by the time they landed and there were jets preparing for takeoff on the ground when he pulled into the hangar. Guards were waiting for the convicts who just got back. Alex pulled off his helmet, powered down and got out of the aircraft.


	23. Chapter 22 - Red Handed

**June 10th, 2019  
Aircraft carrier OFS **_**Hubert**_

**South-west Spring Sea**

For an aircraft carrier, _Hubert's _flight deck was almost clean of aircraft and devoid of personnel. On that deck, a recovering Talon approached the F-14D parked on the starboard forward most aircraft elevator. The Super Tomcat bore the Navy's standard light grey camo with the tail marking correctly assigned to _Hubert _and her carrier air wing. There was a personal emblem near the left air intake, one of a man wielding a sword. A second one was placed next to it. She had seen it on Alex's aircraft. The Razgriz. She ran her good hand across the emblem slowly, her right arm plastered and slung around her chest and neck.

'Yes, it's a Super Tomcat.' A voice from behind made Talon jump and turn around. A man was coming up to her. Commander Snow. Talon exhaled and looked back at the F-14D.

'The Ghosts of Razgriz. I've seen that emblem.' Talon read the text on it.

_The Ghosts of Razgriz_

_Razgriz Air Command Squadron_

'You've seen it?' Snow was now a few metres away from Talon and the F-14.

'Alex had it on his Su-33, and I swear I saw it on a Typhoon at Fort Greys.' Talon stopped touching the emblem and rubbed a spot next to her neck scar. Next to that scar was a line of stitches that were keeping together a wound that was mostly concealed under her uniform.

'Yeah, we all kept the emblem after that.' Snow held his position. 'How did the captain end up in your squad and not in anyone else's?'

'I guess it was because we had the least pilots. Razor had eight, Hammer and Hawk both had six, while Panther only had three including myself. Hell, Razor wasn't even assigned to the _Vulture _at the time. They were a squadron stationed at the naval base.' Talon answered. 'Down to one now. I'm the last man standing.'

'I know how that feels…' Snow spoke but drifted off. Talon spun to face him and placed her good hand on her hip.

'Alex didn't mention you being in Wardog. Where were you before the Razgriz?'

Snow nodded slightly. 'On the _Kestrel. _I was a squad leader, or at least until the fucking _Scinfaxi _appeared and sunk both the _Buzzard _and the _Vulture. _Barely survived that one. A carrier's no good without pilots, so along with the carrier I got placed in reserves in a remote port in the middle of the Ceres Ocean.'

'And that was it?' Talon was curious.

'Well, I helped in a plot to fake the deaths of Alex, Kei and Hans, but that's legend by this point.'

'Yeah, Alex mentioned it. Did you actually get a medal for that?'

Snow laughed. 'Ah, sadly not.' He noticed the rank slide half-concealed because of the sling on Talon's uniform. 'I don't believe I caught your name, Lieutenant…?'

'Lieutenant-Commander Zoe Davis, sir. I didn't catch yours either.'

'Commander Marcus Snow.'

'Well met, sir. Keep in mind, most people call me Talon.'

'Well, Talon, did you fight in the last war?'

Talon shifted on her feet a little. 'A major skirmish over the Pacific with the Yukes, but that was in the final week of the war.'

'Carrier-based?' Snow was resting on the ladder leading up to the cockpit of his F-14. Talon nodded.

'_Orca. _A small VTOL carrier in the 5th Fleet. The losses we took during that battle were bad. How I survived, only god knows.' Talon leaned against the air intake, rubbing the scar on her neck. She looked down at the flight deck and shook her head. While he didn't say anything, Snow could see that something was troubling her.

**Fort Greys Island **

Helmet in hand, Grimm walked alone across an empty taxiway to the hangars where his Typhoon was parked, helmet tucked under one arm. He wore aviator glasses to blot out the glare of the sun that was rising across the horizon.

'Target is approaching his aircraft.' Proning behind the dead corpse of a recently deceased mechanic, a man in flight uniform watched his target stroll towards the single aircraft in the hangar, a Typhoon. He held a remote detonator in his hand connected to an explosive charge in the cockpit, but should that fail he also had a 9-millimeter pistol in the other hand.

'Jeez, empty this morning.' Grimm noted to himself. There was literally no-one in the hangar, which was unusual for a packed airbase. That on its own wasn't too concerning. Grimm heard a slosh of liquid as he stepped into a puddle. The liquid left a streak of red on the sole of his boots. He frowned and crouched down next to it. He took off a glove and dipped his fingers in it. It was bright red and had a consistency similar to blood. _That _was cause for concern. Grimm looked around the centre of the hangar. There were similar patches close to the plane and near racks of weaponry. A spray of blood could be seen on the nose of the Typhoon along with a dent in the middle of it. Grimm unholstered his sidearm, an M9A3, and went into the high-ready position.

The man with the detonator frowned. His target had stopped and pulled out a pistol in alert.

'Well, if you want to play that way.' He pressed down on the detonator. A split second later the charge he had placed in the Typhoon exploded, lacing through the aircraft and causing a larger secondary explosion that blasted open the hangar and knocked over most of the boxes in it.

Grimm was thrown back into a diesel power generator by the force of the explosion, dropping his pistol in the process. He hit the generator hard and grunted loudly, falling to the floor. A piece of airframe about the size of a football hit him in the head, dazing him for a moment.

Joshua Nicholas groaned and brushed himself off before standing up. He could taste blood. The explosive charge he made had evidently been of a higher yield than the assassin had intended. USP in hand, Josh walked forward towards the target. He was sure that the explosion didn't kill him.

His assumption was correct. Grimm had recovered quickly and was standing by the time that Josh had regained line of sight. With one hand he leveled his USP and fired a single round.

Grimm shouted as something slammed into his chest at high speed. It knocked the wind out of him and put him on his ass. As he fell, Grimm saw a man through the rising flames and smoke with a pistol leveled at him. His own pistol had been thrown somewhere else. Running out of options, Grimm untied the helmet looped through his vest and threw it, cricket-style, at the man with the gun.

Josh had been about to fire when the target had stood up, torn a helmet off his hip and threw it at him. The pitch had been fast enough that Josh had no time to react before his hand was slammed by the helmet and thrown out of position. He fired a bullet uselessly into the concrete floor. Josh shrugged the helmet off of his arms and raised the pistol to finish the job. At that precise moment, a man burst out from the flames that was engulfing much of the hangar. The lower half of his flight suit lit on fire, Grimm knocked the gun out of Josh's hand with a firm backhand before proceeding to punch him directly in the mouth. His right hook missed as Josh ducked underneath it and tackled Grimm. The latter had good footing, holding his ground and using an elbow to hit Josh in the back of the head. The blow stunned the attacker who held his head in pain long enough for Grimm to break his grip and flip him onto the now-searing concrete floor. To make sure that the attacker didn't get up, Grimm finished the fight with a firm punch to the nose, resulting in a wet crunch and Josh being knocked out. The victor of the short-lived fight, Grimm dragged the man out of the hangar and out onto the taxiway where a large group of military personnel had gathered very quickly following the explosion. Core among them were medics and armed guards. The medics ran over to Grimm and the man he was dragging. Grimm's uniform was no longer on fire, appearing unscathed. Flight suits were fire-retardant.

'This motherfucker,' Grimm stopped dragging the man and fell to his knees and hands, coughing up some of the smoke he had inhaled. He looked at the guards and stood up, pointing to the man he had dragged out. 'Sergeant, restrain him.' Grimm burst into a coughing fit before falling to the ground facefirst.


	24. Chapter 23 - Welcome to the DSRU

**The same day**

**444 Squadron Air Force Base**

Alex was eating a small bowl of pasta when someone knocked on his door early in the morning. He stood up and went to the door to open it. Four men were standing outside. Colonel McKinsey, two bodyguards and an admiral that he had met nearly a month ago on a now-damaged aircraft carrier.

'Good morning Commander, been a while hasn't it?' Rear Admiral Tahir Logan, wearing a utility uniform, greeted Alex. The latter nodded and stepped back.

'Indeed it has sir. Come in.' Logan came in and the others shut the door behind them. Alex noticed that the admiral had a bag and a folder with him. 'Want a coffee?'

'Polite pass. I have something to discuss that you may be interested in.' Logan took a seat on a couch in the corner of the room that had a table in front of it. Alex quickly refilled a bottle of water and took a chair over to the table to sit down.

'All ears.' Alex was handed the folder. He opened it. Inside were several photos and papers showing radio transcripts. He looked at the photos first. Based on the point of view, they were taken by satellite. A cliff-face facing into the ocean with snow and ice surrounding it. The second photo behind it was of the same area, but this time a gap in the cliff had opened and something was coming into it. A large black object. It had a large central section with two smaller pods flanking it at the stern. A big son of a bitch.

'Where was this taken?' Alex shifted through the two images.

'A fjord in Ice Creek. NAVSAT managed to catch these two images after a communication came down the cable network we tapped into. This area was mentioned.' Logan explained. Alex found the mentioned intercept and read it.

* * *

_TO: Commanding Officer, Fjord Delta_

_FROM: CINC, Royal Armed Forces of Erusea_

_MESSAGE:_

_Acquisition and refit of Scinfaxi-class submersible aircraft carrier confirmed. Vessel will leave on 4TH JUNE. Expect arrival on or about 8TH JUNE. Maintain the usual security level to avoid suspicion and investigation from foreign forces._

_Asset callsign AVENGER. _

_END MESSAGE_

* * *

Alex placed the message back in the folder. He whistled. 'So you need my help to sink the damn thing.'

'Yes.' Logan shifted in the seat and pulled out something from his bag. Black fabric patches with three thick golden stripes and a circle. They were directed towards Alex, who looked at them with a frown and a raised eyebrow. 'These are yours, now, by the way. Congratulations, Commander.'

Alex took them and started replacing his lieutenant-commander patches with the newer commander ones. 'I'm honoured. But on topic of the ugly fat fucker, what's your game plan?'

'Boys on the ground are still working on that.'

'Boys on the ground?' Alex frowned. _Always _some factor that he didn't find out about until later.

'Already got part of a team assembled. A carrier, two Air Force squads and a Marine Force Recon platoon.'

'I thought the Navy was low on aircraft carriers?'

'Our supercarriers? Absolutely, we're in dire need of those. But at the same time, small escort carriers are in surplus.'

'Don't like where this is going.' Alex stated, rubbing his forehead. 'And I definitely don't like the fact that there's a second submarine with ballistic missiles running about.'

'OIA's working on intelligence for the first one, but Avenger takes priority for your case.'

'Understood. When do I meet the rest of the team?'

'_Orca's _underway south of Rocky Island. You'll be flying in with a VTOL.'

'Last I checked, there weren't any F-35Bs on the base.'

'That won't be a problem. We brought one with us.'

Alex frowned and stood up to go to the window. He opened the curtain. On the taxiway was a C-17. Coming out of the back of it was a black aircraft without wings attached. As the nose came around, Alex saw the flame paintjob on the nose.

'Well, at least you got my style down.'

* * *

The next few hours were a blur.

Alex suited up for flight while the mechanics prepped the F-35B Lightning II. Once the aircraft was readied and fuelled, Alex zoomed off the runway and went north-east. The C-17 followed shortly behind. In that time Alex had a lot of time to think about his situation and the upcoming mission. A recon and strike mission on a super-submarine deep behind enemy lines, in the arctic regions. _Well this feels familiar, _Alex thought at some point. It was basically what he and his wingmates had done to the _Hrimfaxi _nine years earlier. The water below them was gradually turning more opaque as the two aircraft travelled into colder waters. Three hours later, a rocky cliff came into view. At the base of it was a wide water passage. In the middle of it, a ship. The IFF identified the vessel as OFS _Orca. _As Alex got closer, he saw what Logan had meant by light carrier. The ship was a third of the size of a supercarrier, with no angled section for aircraft recovery and a ramp at the front end of the flight deck for launching S/VTOL aircraft.

'_Orca, _Blaze, requesting landing permissions.' Alex called the air boss on the carrier.

'_This is Orca, commander, you are cleared to land on the aft landing pad.' _The air boss responded. Alex reduced thrust on the engine and went into VTOL mode to lose forward airspeed approaching the ship. His maneuver was well-timed, bringing him to a halt exactly over the area he had to be. The ship was moving forward however, forcing Alex to move with the ship to compensate. Alex reduced vertical thrust further and shut down the engine entirely as he touched down. The moment the wheels kissed the flight deck a gaggle of ground crew ran out to tie down the F-35.

'Blaze, on deck.' Alex said one thing before powering down the aircraft entirely. A small crew of pilots had already come out to the back to see the newcomer. He took off his helmet, looped it onto his vest and opened the canopy to step out. At that moment he noticed that the crew of pilots currently out was only four members. Two black guys, a bald man and a woman. Alex walked over to them.

'You our new guy?' One of the black males, the one with sharper facial features, spoke first. He sounded like a relaxed man.

'Unless they sent someone to replace me, yep.' Alex joked. 'I'm Blaze.'

'I'm Wiseman, overall commander of this joint.' He indicated to the pilots standing next to him while saying this. 'The other guys are in the crew room, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team.'

'Thank you.' Still in flight uniform, Alex and the four pilots walked across the deck, through the superstructure and down inside the hull of the carrier. They walked through several hallways, passing by the hangar before finally arriving in the crew room forward of the hangar. Two other pilots were in the room. They were playing a card game.

'Lanza, Jaeger, say hi to our new friend.' Wiseman quickly introduced Alex to the two men.

'Welcome to the merry ol' crew, man.' Lanza said while scanning the commander. He nodded and smiled.

'That's Lanza, our resident book nerd.' The woman in the team said, falling heavily on a couch facing towards a table.

'Hey, you're no better than me, Huxian.' Lanza defended himself. Huxian chuckled while shaking her head and opening a book.

'Wiseman, is there a ready room where I can put my shit?' Alex asked, wanting to get out of his uniform. The former pointed to a door in the back of the room. Alex nodded and went in. The room was smaller than a typical ready room, probably because of the few pilots embarked. Alex noticed that there was a locker with his initials and callsign on it. He opened it. Inside was a fresh working uniform. He changed into that quickly, stowed his kit and came back out again. Everyone was now seated. Alex found a place to sit in the corner of the couch.

'Admiral Logan showed us your service record.' Jaeger said while stretching his back. 'Glad to have the demon under our wing, captain.'

'You know, I was hoping he wouldn't mention that.' Alex stretched out his legs. 'I didn't take the liberty to read up on you people, so I don't know any names around here.'

'Well, you've met Wiseman, Huxian and Lanza.' The bald man answered the question that Alex didn't have the time to ask. 'We've got two teams. In Cyclops' corner, Wiseman, I'm Fencer, and Huxian. Your half, Strider, you've got yourself, Jaeger, Skald and Lanza.' The pilots mentioned made some form of movement to identify themselves when called out.

'Yeah, if the admiral didn't tell you already, you're being placed in command of Strider. Welcome to the DSRU.' Wiseman briefed Alex on the basics.

'Bloody hell does that mean?' Alex asked. He had never heard of the term in any context.

'See?' Lanza said as to prove a point.

'Deep Strike Recon Unit.' Jaeger actually answered the question.

'We find stuff and attack it, deep behind enemy lines.' Wiseman talked again. 'And in this case, we're after a Yuktobanian super submarine that the Eruseans got their hands on. Any questions?'

'Yes,' Alex did indeed have a question. 'What's your plan for sinking the damn thing?'

'Two phases. First phase, we're gonna find an opening for a Marine SOF team to infiltrate the port and open the gate for us to get in. Second phase, we go in, cripple or sink that sub, and get out.'

'The base looked pretty damn hard to crack from the photos I saw. I don't think it'll be that easy.' Alex was skeptical of the main plan, and rightfully so. Submarine docks were notoriously hard to get into, let alone attack.

'Which is where Plan B comes in. If we can't get in, then we blast the entire place to slag with bomb strikes and cruise missile attacks.' Jaeger pitched in again. Wiseman nodded to him.

'Why can't we go with plan B first, again?' Huxian, head deep into some sort of novel.

'Because that's the very opposite of subtle.' Skald noted.

'Not to mention that blasting open an area of that size and composition will be a pain in the ass.' Alex mentioned.

'That too.' Skald agreed.

'More importantly, are those Marines embarked on the ship?' Alex asked. He hadn't seen anyone in their uniform onboard so far, or any transports an SOF team would use to go places.

'They're already at Ice Creek.' Wiseman answered. 'They've been behind enemy lines for a couple of weeks now.'

'Jeez. Tough bastards.'

'_Attention all hands, this is the captain speaking.' _The 1MC system going off interrupted their conversation. '_Prepare for arctic weather operations. We are moving into the colder areas of Usea_. _That is all._'

'Well,' Alex laid back a little and cracked his neck. 'I suspect this is going to be a bland trip.'


	25. Chapter 24 - Sol

**Naval Station Oured Bay**

**OFS **_**Hubert, **_**OFS **_**Kestrel II, **_**OFS **_**Fulmar, **_**OFS **_**Darter **_**carrier battle group**

**Task Force Outcome**

'Been a while since I've been to the capital.' Snow mused as _Hubert _was escorted down the wide river into the expansive naval base. Talon, her arm still broken, stood next to him on the flight deck.

'Not much to see. It's basically all skyscrapers and the like.' Talon commented on the topic, the cool morning breeze of the 11th of June blowing her dark green hair around despite being tied back. _Hubert _and _Kestrel _had both made it back to Oured without incident. They would repair operational damage, refit and repair electrical systems in _Hubert's_ case, pick up new pilots and their aircraft, and then going back to the Usean continent to reengage in the conflict, this time escorted by carriers _Fulmar_ and _Darter. _OFS _Fulmar, _a _Vulture II-_class carrier, had been conducting sea trials at Saint Hewlett when the war started and was damaged. Only now had she been commissioned and sent to Oured. On the other hand, _Darter _was an older _Hubert _vessel, commissioned around the same time as the first _Kestrel. _Like the _Hubert _proper, she had been decommissioned but recently pulled out of mothballs and returned to service.

'A city of concrete. Yeah, sounds about right.' Snow rolled his shoulders and started walking back to the island. Talon didn't move, staring out onto the city. Her journey was done for now. Broken bones took a long while to heal, and even longer to be permitted to fly a fighter. An ache in her ribs stopped the thought before it got anywhere saddening.

* * *

**Fort Greys Island **

With a few stitches visible on his neck and face, Grimm was at the front of a briefing room with his pilots in seats, all prepared for flight operations.

_June 11, 2019, 0930 Hours_

_Operation Swift Hammer_

_Comberth Harbour _

'_With our carrier operations in the north-west halted and the Eruseans holding back any advance into the country, we're currently at a stalemate, and only wasting forces with our attacks.' _

'_That said, we have plans for places elsewhere. The Navy managed to punch a hole in the Erusean air defence network at Comberth Harbour. There's a substantial fleet there. We take off from here, hammer the fleet and return. This should reduce the load for our ship boys.'_

Grimm and Webber walked side by side to their aircraft after the briefing, along with the other 35 pilots in the 242nd that were still alive.

'Sure you're good to fly, sir?' Webber asked as they approached their aircraft parked in the tent hangars.

'I had a vest on, I'm fine.' Grimm replied confidently. Indeed, the 9mm round he had been hit by had been stopped by the plates he wore under his vest. And the bomb had only hit him in superficial places that required minimal stitching. His plane hadn't had the same luck, as evident by the wreckage of it still sitting in the burnt-down hangar. As a replacement, Grimm had acquired one of Wolf Squad's reserve F-15s. Everyone else still had either the F-15E or the Typhoon. Grimm put his helmet on before stepping up and into the F-15C. In the other hangars, the other pilots did the same.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Titan 1/Archer - F-15C Eagle_

_Titan 2-16 - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Wolf 1/Huntsman - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Wolf 2-19 - F-15E Strike Eagle_

'_242nd Squadron, cleared for takeoff._' The tower permitted the massive group of fighters to take off. Grimm led the formation at the front, quickly zooming down the runway, pulling up and soaring into the skies. The others followed in a roar, bristling with anti-surface and anti-ship weapons.

'Head 2-7-5, Angels 1, 600 knots.' Grimm turned to the north-west, everyone else following along. The formation was in two notable blobs, representing the two squads within the squadron.

'_Archer, do we know the composition of the enemy fleet?' _One of Titan's pilots asked.

'Two carriers, a battlecruiser, half a dozen destroyers and two dozen ships frigate or smaller.' Grimm read off the kneepad he had. Each ship had a name, but he didn't bother to read them out.

'_This sounds familiar.' _Webber noted. He wasn't wrong. 14 years ago, the Aegir fleet of a similar size had been destroyed by ISAF. Every vessel, mostly by the ace known as Mobius 1.

'In more ways than one. Let's wipe them.' Grimm tightened his grip on the stick. The squadron proceeded over the choppy ocean beneath.

* * *

Under similar circumstances in a smaller squad, five aircraft flew over the ocean, rain coming from above. Su-30s. Eruseans. Four were charcoal black. The last, the aircraft at the front of the formation was also black but in addition its wingtips and vertical stabilizers were painted orange.

'The enemy's flying a large formation.' To the leader's left, Wit read what his radar was telling him.

'_Two distinct formations. The 242nd?' _The aircraft furthest to the right, Roald, recalled. So far they were the only Osean squadron to have that many numbers in this region, and use them actively in combat.

'_Which means we're dealing with a Razgriz. Interesting._' Mihaly himself commented on the matter.

'A Razgriz? Wasn't the guy you were talking about operating off carriers?' Wit was a little confused.

'_I saw the emblem. H. Grimm was a Wardog pilot. Hence the assumption.' _Mihaly explained. Wit quickly understood. '_Razgriz 4 is the best of the group, but don't underestimate the others either.'_

'Copy.' Wit.

'_Copy.'_ Seymore.

'_Copy_.' Hermann.

'_Copy.'_ Roald.

Sol Squadron was on the hunt.

* * *

'Archer to all pilots. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.' Grimm gave the order for aircraft with anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles to release weapons. A cloud of them fell off weapon pylons. A mix of AGM-84D Harpoons and AGM-154 JSOW-ERs. Around 80 of them shot forward aiming for specific places in the port. All fighters suddenly sped up to stay ahead of the missiles. They would release bombs and short-range missiles at about the same time that the missiles arrived.

'_Wolf Squad, let's soften them up!_' Webber and his squad climbed up above the radar horizon. His F-15s were armed with anti-radar missiles and more cruise missiles. In the cockpit of the Huntsman, the RWR was going off as he was locked by the remaining air defence networks and the radars of the ships in port.

'_Launch HARMs!_' From the rails of the F-15s shot out white smoke, the product from the jets of the AGM-88 HARM shooting forward tracking various radars. They were much faster than the cruise missiles, breaking the sound barrier and then some. As quickly as they had risen and fired, Wolf Squad dropped below the radar horizon before SAMs came their way. '_Those missiles will get there in a minute._'

'Time to target, one minute.' Grimm announced, arming the GBU-39s his Eagle was equipped with. Small 250lb bombs would be enough to cause significant damage to smaller warships and just about anything that could be found on the ground. Land mass started to be visible over the horizon. Then the ships in port. Finally, the base itself could be seen. The HARMs had already struck anything that was emitting radar waves, fires set on a great deal of the enemy targets. The functioning CIWS mounts on ships had started to engage the gigantic cruise missile wave, managing to down some of them in streaks of green tracers. Grimm's targeting computer lit green.

'All flights, engage!' Grimm gave the overall order to release remaining anti-ground weaponry. Bombs and short-range AGMs. Grimm went for the _Kirov_-class battlecruiser. Weapons dropped from pylons. In a single, swift, strike, the hammer dropped. Cruise missiles, anti-ground missiles and bombs struck at exactly the same time. Warships buckled and broke. Bunker-buster bombs entered vital spaces and magazines to cause catastrophic explosions. Anti-ship missiles pierced ships at sea level, exploded and caused flooding that outright destroyed smaller ships and caused listing on the bigger ones.

The _Kitty Hawk_-class carrier _Merde _took the brunt of the first wave and started listing to one side in the deepwater port, poorly secured aircraft sliding down the flight deck. The escorts around her, four destroyers and six frigates, were destroyed instantly as their fuel and magazine stores were compromised. Battlecruiser _Proteus _was the next to face the fury of the 242nd, the combined power of several GBUs and missiles culminating in breaking off the bow just slightly forward of the superstructure. The fleet oiler next to her went up in flames after being hit by a single Harpoon. Other ships that happened to get in the way of the missiles were also damaged. One such ship, the _Udaloy-_class destroyer _Admiral Zes_, caught the twenty missiles intended for _Kuznetsov-_class carrier _Loki _and disappeared in a black cloud.

Overall, one aircraft carrier, the battlecruiser, all six destroyers, ten frigates and three replenishment ships were destroyed in the first attack. 21 out of the 33 ships of the fleet. There was no counter-fire as the HARM strike had either destroyed or shut down all of the radar-directed AAA guns and SAM sites. The SEAD mission by Wolf Squad had been very effective.

* * *

Some kilometres away, Sol Squadron approached. They could hear the panicked communications from the personnel and warships at the base.

'_This is the Proteus, we are sinking!' _

'_Zes just fucking exploded!'_

'_Get our air defence up and knock out those planes!'_

'Shit, we're late.' Wit. He flipped down the visor on his helmet, arming an experimental type of missile that his aircraft was equipped with. Seymore had the same missiles, but Mihaly, Roald and Hermann had the normal R-73/R-77 combination for their Su-30s.

'_Not too late to get rid of these squadrons. Sol, engage_.' Mihaly gave permission for his escorts to engage while he zipped off to get closer to the enemy.

'Let's try out these stealth missiles.' Wit mused to himself while pulling the trigger to fire the six that he had.

* * *

In a sharp dive, Grimm focused his fire on the surviving carrier. He dropped more GBUs onto the flight deck and pulled up before slamming into it. It's only functioning CIWS mount tried in vain to destroy the glider bombs, failing as they zipped into the flight deck and exploded, knocking a large crater through the middle of it that pierced all the way to the hangar. No way she would be launching aircraft now. Titan Squad was getting rid of the surviving warships and replenishment ships, while Wolf Squad dealt with the ground-based air defence systems.

Mythic intercepted an escaping frigate, diving under the wave of CIWS fire it was unleashing as a barrier and dropped two 2000lb Mark 84 bombs into its midsection at close range, splitting the vessel in half. As she climbed up again to go for another bombing run, a tiny metallic object at range caught her attention. Mythic tracked the object and very quickly realised what it was.

'Titan, evade!' She called out to everyone in general as she turned sharply and dived to avoid the missile coming at her. It passed overhead without exploding. Instead the missile went for someone in its flight path, in this case one of the Wolf F-15Es. It hit bang on the target and exploded in a bright flash. The pilot who had been hit must have died quickly as a result because there was no screaming, no requests for help. Another of the missiles shot over, then two more, then a pair. They kept coming in pairs until a total of 11 Osean aircraft vaporized in air, hit by something that hadn't triggered any radar warning receivers. Grimm had narrowly managed to evade the missile targeted for him after Mythic called out to evade. He had seen the effect they had on his squad.

'_What the fuck was that?!_' The attack had stirred Webber from his otherwise complacent mood.

'RWR didn't sound off. Titan, Wolf, watch your tail and evade, those missiles don't trigger warnings!' Grimm shot towards the ocean floor and flew out towards the sea.

'_That's the least of our problems sir, single Su-30 approaching from the south.' _Mythic reported.

'_Make that three- no, five. Five ingressing Su-30 Flankers!' _Taipan, Wolf 7, had survived the initial barrage and saw the new radar contacts.

'Shit.' Grimm cursed to himself, pondering on a plan. 'We have the numbers. Titan, Wolf, head on.'

The battle was one-sided. 23 Osean aircraft against 5 Eruseans.

* * *

'_Major, in your own words, describe how the battle went.' _

'It was a fucking slaughter.'

'_Your AAR notes that one ace in particular managed to down most of the squad.'_

'Yes. Their leader caused most of the losses on our end.'

'_You did manage to shoot one down?'_

'Captain Webber bagged one of the wingmen and damaged the leader. I managed to tag one of the escorts before they retreated.'

'_There were four survivors including yourself?_'

'Myself and Second Lieutenant Hunter from Titan. Captain Webber and First Lieutenant Campbell from Wolf.'

'_Did this enemy squadron happen to consist of five Su-30s with black paintjobs and orange trimming?'_

'Yes.'

'_Very well. You may leave now, Major.' _

A mentally exhausted Grimm stood up and left the room that a group of general officers were questioning him in. His fists were clenched all the way out. Webber was waiting by the door for him.

'That was quick.' Webber was toying around with something in his hand. A bracelet.

'There wasn't much to say.' Grimm was quiet but composed.

'You did what you could. Whoever those guys were, they're good.' Webber tried to be reassuring.

'Where's Mythic and Taipan?'

'Hanging around with the Fort Grey guys.'

'They okay?'

'Mythic's fine, Taipan's a little shaken.'

'Let's go.' The two officers left the doorway they were talking at and headed for the rec room where they would most likely be. A few buildings, a lot of hallways and a stairwell later, the two entered the room. Grimm's guess had been correct, everyone was there. He took a deep breath and blinked before walking in. Mythic was reading a book while sitting next to Golem pilot Brownie. Taipan was talking heartily to the other Golem pilots. Webber followed closely behind Grimm and shut the door. Knocker, Golem's squad leader and overall wing commander, waved him over at the back table.

'Check on them.' Grimm said to Webber before coming over to Knocker.

'I heard about the Comberth mess. You alright?' Knocker was concerned about Grimm's wellbeing.

'Physically, yes. Mentally, well.' Grimm sighed and pulled out a chair to sit on. 'I should have seen it coming.'

'They were experienced pilots. The situation was out of your hands.'

'That's the thing. I could have taken them any day of the week. It was me getting everyone else to fight pilots well out of their league that condemned the lives of 31 men and women.' Grimm grimaced at the thought and inhaled. His eyes were cold and hard-set.

Knocker didn't have a reply to that.


	26. Chapter 25 - The Black Raven (Part I)

In a small and worn bathroom with a sink and mirror, a man with cropped black, greying hair and a raven tattoo across his back, shaved. Fine grey hair fell into the basin of the sink as the blade in the razor cut through it. Cold, blue eyes observed the movement in the mirror, making sure to catch every spot as quickly as possible while also not cutting his face by accident.

Somewhere behind him, a phone started ringing. The man grunted softly, finished off his shaving and went to answer the phone. It laid on a wooden nightstand, vibrating. The caller ID was listed as unknown. The man picked up the phone but said nothing.

'_Raven?_' The voice was electronic, being run through a voice changer of some sort.

'Yes.' The man answered, looking through the window at the early morning rain in the city.

'_My organisation has a job for you. We need a series of high-value targets, both at sea and on land, eliminated._'

'What is the nature of these targets?'

'_Anti-ballistic and anti-satellite weaponry. Extreme resistance from the Kingdom of Erusea, and possibly the Osean Federation, should be expected for this mission._'

'Consider it done.' The man ended the phone call. He put the phone down and went to a closet to extract a jacket and a pair of jeans.

Two minutes later, the man was on a sleek black motorcycle zipping through traffic, heading for the nearest military airport.


	27. Chapter 26 - Similar Situations

Flying on his own above icebergs forming close to the island in front of him, Blaze scanned the landscape while also occasionally looking down at his GPS tracker. He was looking for the fjord that the DSRU was trying to get into and destroy. So far Blaze had been in the air for half an hour, having taken off early in the morning to actually get there. Because of the risk of radar detection, _Orca _had positioned itself 200 kilometres from the coast to avoid both land-based and aerial detection networks. Strider and Cyclops Squadrons were back on the carrier. This mission only required a single aircraft. Blaze exhaled and thought back to the briefing.

_June 14th, 2019, 0530 Hours_

_Operation Executive Scan_

_Ice Creek_

'_We're here, now we've got to meet our Marines on the ground and find them an access point into the base. There are probably maintenance shafts on top of the creek and near the front of the docking bay door. Look for these. If there are none, report back to the carrier and we'll switch to Plan B.'_

Easy enough. Blaze checked his GPS. If it was correct, he would be passing over the heads of the Marines squad now.

'Rapier, this is your air support, you there?' Blaze used the frequency he had been assigned to contact the team.

'_Welcome to the frozen wastes of hell, Strider 1.' _Rapier's response was nothing short of what Blaze expected from a Force Recon operator.

'Thanks. Need an entrance?'

'_Are you armed with bunker-busters?' _The ground operator asked. Blaze frowned.

'I have Hellfire AGMs if that counts.' _Why the hell would I need GBUs?_ He thought to himself in confusion.

'_Good enough. There's a ventilation port on top of the mountain that leads all the way inside. Problem is, we can't get in because of the machinery operating inside.'_

'And this is where I come in?'

'_Yes sir. There's also a shitton of snow up there. Shoot something powerful enough into it, and the entire thing collapses in an avalanche.'_

'Oh, I get you. Can you designate the point I need to hit?' Blaze understood. If the snow fell into the ventilation system, it would shut down machinery and keep it shut down until someone cleared it by hand. The Eruseans were not known for their system reliability.

'_Give us about ten minutes to get there._'

'Copy, standing off.' Blaze navigated amongst the snow-covered cliffs at low speed while he waited for Rapier to designate the target. River flow and glaciers had cut valleys through the islands that he could fly through. Blaze zipped through all the ones in the area, practising on his tight space flying ability and getting a feel for the general controls of the F-35B. He had very little experience with the F-35, having only used it once in the Circum-Pacific War over Cruik Fortress. Blaze inhaled and exhaled heavily as he pulled a turn back out to open water. Thoughts of a prior mission took him back several years.

* * *

**The Razgriz Straits **

**November 14th, 2010**

**Operation Long Harpoon**

'Well this place looks uninviting.' A younger Alex noted the water and ice below the four-ship formation. The view was universal in every direction for miles.

'_It's the Razgriz godforsaken Straits, kid. Place is uninviting as places come._' Chopper in the rear position, flying an F-14B, replied to the state of the area.

'_I gotta agree with the captain on this. This place is unnerving.' _Grimm agreed with Alex. The formation was running a mixed bag of aircraft.

_AIRCRAFT  
Wardog 1/Blaze - Su-27 Flanker_

_Wardog 2/Edge - Su-35 Super Flanker_

_Wardog 3/Chopper - F-14B Tomcat_

_Wardog 4/Archer - F-14B Tomcat_

For the past day and a half, a Yuktobanian super submarine had been bombarding Osean landing forces from the icy waters of the Razgriz Strait. The OIA and the Osean Army believed that the shooter was a second _Scinfaxi-_class submarine. The _Hrimfaxi._ Wardog had been assigned to travel from Sand Island to the Anean continent to deal with it.

'_Alex, do you think the Estovakians know that the Yukes are shooting from their waters?' _Kei asked.

'Doubt it. I don't think they'd admit it even if they did know.' Alex replied. The Estovakians had good relationships with Yuktobania, and not so much with Osea.

'_Wardog, stay at low altitude and fly towards the submarine fleet.' _Thunderhead cut the conversation off before it continued any further. '_You are restricted from flying above 1,000 feet. We can't risk our surprise attack being detected.'_

'_I'm getting chills. This northern sea is where the Demon of Razgriz came from.'_ Chopper mentioned the famous - or infamous - story.

'I still need to read that book.'

'_Razgriz…_' Kei.

'_Heh. There's no way that could have been the Razgriz.'_ There had been mentions among the men back at base that the submarine based in the straits was the persona of Razgriz. Chopper vocally disagreed.

'_Hold your chatter. Commencing comm out procedures shortly. Maintain radio silence._' Thunderhead formally raised the EMCOM barrier.

'_Aww. Guess I'll cut off the mic and try talking to myself.' _Chopper was disappointed. Alex chuckled. _Poor bastard. _Alex flipped a switch on his dashboard to cut off his helmet microphone. From there, the only noise to keep him company was the roar of his twin turbofan engines and the howling of outside wind. Despite it being winter in the Northern Hemisphere, weather conditions were calm. For now.

The formation dived closer to the ground and sped up to get to the _Hrimfaxi _faster. If they wanted the submarine destroyed, they would have to strike at it hard and fast while it was on the surface. The Emmerian Navy was on standby with anti-submarine warfare aircraft should it try to escape west, but the realistic chances of them finding the sub in these conditions were extremely low.

About halfway to the target, the tactical display on Alex's Su-27 updated with a beep. He checked what had changed. In every direction surrounding the _Hrimfaxi _were a new series of hostiles. Submarines. _Picket _submarines. Alex cursed. They were most likely about to be detected. As Wardog Squadron zipped over the first barrier submarine going at speeds above Mach 2, his suspicions were found to be correct. An electronic whine happened and then dissipated for someone to start talking on the radio net.

'_This is Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, the advisor to HQ.' _The Army officer started speaking. Must have been something serious to break radio silence. '_That picket submarine just sent off an enemy detection notice. The Hrimfaxi's gonna dive in one minute. Attack immediately!'_

'_Hey, I can talk again.'_ Chopper was the first Wardog member to speak.

'Wardog, push it.' Alex put as much thrust as he could into his engines and shot forward over the SAM that the submarine fired at him. He could outspeed the missile, leaving it in the snow and ice.

'_Ten clicks out._' Kei said for the record. At this range, their ECM could detect and read the radio communications between the various submarines.

'_Enemy planes! Halt all resupply operations!'_

'_Enemy planes? We're still in the middle of our mission!' _

'_Dammit! How did they sniff us out?'_

The Oseans made it with weapons release range of the _Hrimfaxi._

'Wardog, fire!' Alex released a pair of cluster bombs at the super sub. Chopper and Grimm used armour-piercing 2000lb GBUs. Nagase was flying their anti-air cover and didn't have air-to-ground munitions.

_Hrimfaxi's_ midships region erupted in a cloud of grey smoke and a large series of explosions as the two cluster bombs broke open and unleashed the explosive charges held within. The GBUs were less flashy but more damaging, their penetrators ripping past the outer skin, through the pressure hull and into vital internal systems. They had made it in the nick of time, the _Hrimfaxi _going under as the last bomb hit the sub.

'_That bastard is diving!'_ Chopper.

'_Damage on enemy submarine unknown_.' Nagase.

'That thing has to be taking on water.' Alex had remembered what happened to the _Scinfaxi._ She had taken a beating from GBU strikes alone. ECM detected radio transmissions again.

'_This is Submarine Squadron Command. Emergency report from our ground forces in the front line.' _There was a pause. '_The enemy is undertaking a large-scale offensive. Attack the enemy forces with long-range missile strikes from the Hrimfaxi. Urgent. Transmitting target coordinates.'_

'Moment of truth.' If the sub fired without surfacing, the operation would be a failure. Alex held his breath.

'_This is Hrimfaxi. We cannot comply. We're unable to launch missiles underwater due to battle damage.' _The comms officer on the super sub replied. Wardog was in luck.

'_What's the point of your existence if you don't fire now?!_' The squadron commander was getting increasingly desperate. '_They're penetrating our defensive lines as we speak! Hurry up before they overrun our allies!'_

'_Emergency surface. Hold on to something!'_ The Hrimfaxi transmitted. Wardog waited over spaces of open water. '_Once we surface, launch the missiles and unmanned drones.'_

'Eyes open, unload on the fucker once she surfaces!' Alex ran all of his sensors to make sure that he saw the sub as soon as it surfaced. Nagase, Chopper and Grimm were all equally aware. No-one wanted to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Osean soldiers. The first one to see the sub was Nagase.

'_The Hrimfaxi's antenna has appeared above water. It's surfacing!_' She said, pinging the location with a sensor pod. Alex watched that area. He saw white in the water shortly followed by tons of water being thrown upwards as _Hrimfaxi _surfaced swiftly and violently. As quickly as she had surfaced, she launched a single missile and a series of vertically-launched fighters from containers located in the stern of the boat.

'_Hrimfaxi launching burst missiles!'_ Thunderhead called out the launch before anyone else did.

'Kei, Grimm, deal with the fighters! Chopper, let's hit the sub!' Alex quickly gave tactical orders to everyone before diving towards the _Hrimfaxi _with his cluster bombs armed.

'_Copy that, kid_.' Chopper followed him in the attack. Weapons popped out from the _Hrimfaxi's _hull. AA guns and SAM batteries. She was well kitted. Before they fired at the offending aircraft, Alex released a pair of clusters specifically targeted for those AA weapons. Explosions rattled over the entire weapons deck as the charges exploded. Behind him, Chopper aimed for the stern of the ship, going for the reactor core that powered the sub. Two bombs tumbled from his F-14 down to the _Hrimfaxi. _Both bombs hit their mark, shaking the submarine and dislodging various electronic, hydraulic and mechanical mountings.

'_This is Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, advisor to HQ. I'm getting your info in real time from our tracker satellite. Time your attacks to-'_

'Already on it sir.' Alex cut the colonel off as he rapidly turned around to avoid a missile from one of the surviving SAM launchers. He came in for a second run with the cluster bombs, cutting across the middle of the sub. A third cloud of explosions rocked the deck of the _Hrimfaxi, _destroying or disabling the remaining anti-aircraft weaponry.

'Christ, this thing is tough. Grimm, need your GBUs down here.' The damage that the sub had taken was impressive and would have sunk any other submarine and just about any other surface vessel. Highly pressurized air shot out from the flanks and stern of the _Hrimfaxi._ She was flooding her ballast tanks and preparing to dive.

'_She's diving kid!'_ Chopper struck the stern with missiles to little effect.

'I know!' Alex released the last set of cluster bombs he had in a straight dive. The charges funneled out and hit the starboard side engine pod. This time the hull visibly buckled as its structure was compromised by repeated bomb hits.

'_Hrimfaxi! You're dealing lethal damage to the Osean Army. Give me one more shot! Drive them back to the coast line!' _Submarine Command was still transmitting.

'_Captain, ballast tanks are damaged, unable to submerge!'_ The damage control on the _Hrimfaxi_ was having difficulty dealing with flooding. Wardog's attacks were taking their toll.

'_Forget it, we'll deal with them above the surface!_'

The stern of the submarine appeared above water before the rest of it. She was imbalanced in the water. The moment the midsection of the sub appeared above water, a missile shot out of a central VLS cell.

'_Hrimfaxi launching burst missile!_' Thunderhead called it out. '_Wardog, it's heading your way!_' The guy's tone was urgent, _very_ urgent.

'_Uh oh._' Grimm captured Alex's thoughts in one line. The latter dived down from high altitude over the _Hrimfaxi,_ missiles and guns armed, despite the approaching threat of the burst missile over their heads.

'_Alex, what are you doing?!'_ His actions concerned Nagase greatly. He didn't reply. The submarine had to be sunk, and soon, otherwise the juggling act of evasion would see someone sent into the drink. Alex kept diving. He launched his missiles and fired a long burst from the cannon into the missile storage area.

'_10 seconds to impact!_' Alex had ten seconds to climb from a hundred metres to five thousand. At the last possible second he yanked back on the stick to face his engines towards the sea, put as much thrust as he could into the engines and started to accelerate upwards.

_5._ Alex passed the one kilometre mark.

_4\. _

'_Climb kid, climb!'_ Chopper was rooting for him.

_3\. _2 kilometres.

_2\. _3 and a half kilometres.

_1\. _

'_BLAZE!'_

Alex closed his eyes as the warhead of the burst missile detonated in several white flashes. The Su-27 shook violently, hit by the shockwave of the explosion. He kept his eyes closed for a couple of seconds.

'_Blaze, returned to radar_.' Thunderhead. He had survived, if only by the distance of a hair.

'_Bloody hell._' Chopper was relieved.

'_Captain, that was too close!'_ Grimm was also relieved.

'_Alex, are you insane?'_ Kei was probably relieved but she sounded more annoyed.

'Wardog, let's finish off this fucking sub!' Alex cut the ceremony short and dived towards the _Hrimfaxi _for the final killing blow. Nagase, Chopper and Grimm all followed behind him. Alex loosed off missiles at the point he had hit before and leveled off. Nagase blind-fired some missiles and used her cannon. Chopper and Grimm had the most devastating attack, both hitting the _Hrimfaxi _with a pair of GBUs each. There was a gut-wrenching explosion below as something big detonated within the hull of the sub.

'_All this damage from four planes? How is this possible?!'_

'_Reactor's going critical, we need to abandon ship!'_

'_Look! The Razgriz story was true!'_

'_That's not possible._'

As fires raged internally, a part of the external hull was blown clean off by an internal explosion. _Hrimfaxi_ started listing rapidly to the stern. She was sinking.

'_Command, this is Hrimfaxi, we are sinking!'_

'_Hrimfaxi, it appears you're up against Razgriz itself out there.'_

'_Looks like they were the real Razgriz, not us-_'

The final words of the captain were cut off by a rapid series of major explosions tearing what was left of the _Hrimfaxi _apart. Her various fragments splashed out for several hundred metres in all directions as the remaining central mass slipped beneath the surface. The threat was gone, and with it the might of the Yuktobanian Navy.

'_You there Blaze?' _Kei's voice called out to Alex.

* * *

'_You there Blaze?'_ Nine years later, the deeper voice of a Marine replaced it.

'Yeah, sorry.' Blaze rubbed his eyes. 'Say again your last.'

'_Target has been marked via IR beacon. You're cleared hot_.'

'Copy.' Blaze flipped down his visor and switched from visual to night vision, looking for the pulse of light that the beacon would be making. He found it. The target was a mountain of snow overlooking the top of the mountain. For the noise factor, Blaze decided against using missiles and let off a few short bursts of cannon fire into the base of the mount. This was enough to destabilize the mount and send heavy layers of snow roaring down the mountain side and to where it needed to go.

'_Good effect on target, Strider 1. That's all we needed. Proceeding to enter the base.'_

'Rog. Have a good day Rapier.' Blaze gave his farewell to the Marine Recon team on the ground and turned back for the _Orca, _his operation complete for today.


	28. Chapter 27 - Executive Sweep

**June 15th, 2019**

**OFS **_**Orca**_

In the pilots berth aft of the hangar, Jaeger opened the door to the room that he and the rest of Strider Squadron shared. Alex was in there talking to Lanza.

'...Nah, I joined the Air Force a couple of years after the war ended. This is my first major deployment.' Lanza was speaking about his time in the armed forces.

'Morning Jaeger.' Alex greeted the older pilot.

'Hey. Commander, Wiseman wanted to see you in briefing.' Jaeger said to Alex while passing in between the two to grab a cold weather jacket out of his locker.

'Rog.' Alex swung out his legs onto the floor and walked out. Once he was gone, Lanza whistled. Jaeger looked at him.

'What?' Jaeger asked in curiosity.

'That man is the real freakin' deal. He knows his stuff.' Lanza replied.

* * *

Alex regretted not grabbing a jacket as he passed through the hangar, ducking underneath the wings of stowed F-35s. An older carrier, _Orca _didn't have the sort of climate systems that supercarriers had. To make that fact worse, the hangar elevator was open, taking helicopters up to the flight deck, so the arctic winds were coming in. Alex shivered until he passed through the hangar, one hallway and into the briefing room where Wiseman, Skald and Huxian were posted.

'Speak of the devil.' Wiseman said when he saw the commander-ex captain enter the room.

'You called?' Alex asked, moving to the front of the room. He rubbed the growing, black stubble on his chin.

'The mission does. Marines got into the base.' Wiseman reported. Alex raised his eyebrows.

'What's the mission?' Alex asked.

'The front door's open. We bust in and hit that super sub hard.' Wiseman said it convincingly enough. For a normal pilot.

'One, I don't think it'll be that simple, and two, is there a catch on this?' Alex was skeptical. From his experiences on _Scinfaxi _and _Hrimfaxi, _sinking them was much harder than one would assume.

'If Command wanted us to do something else, they would have said by this point.'

'Fair.'

'Blaze,' Skald cut into the conversation. 'You sunk both of them. You know what hurts them. What weapons would you suggest using?'

_Finally, someone asking proper questions. _'Heavy weapons. Anti-ship missiles, two-thousand pound GBUs, bunker busters and basically anything that can penetrate several layers of armour.'

'Big motherfucker.' Huxian swore openly.

Alex checked his watch. _9:30AM._

'Wiseman, when's the operation?'

'Around 11.'

'I'll go grab the guys.' Alex left the briefing room to summon Jaeger, Lanza and Fencer. As he opened the door, he nearly walked into Jaeger. 'Speak of the devil.'

'Figured something was going on.' The trio got past Alex and took seats in the briefing room. Alex nodded and took a seat at the front of the room.

_June 15th, 2019, 1100 Hours_

_Operation Executive Sweep_

_Ice Creek_

'_The time has come. The submarine dock has been opened by our friends on the ground. It's now our job to get in and destroy her, along with any other submarines in the dock. If anyone tries to assist, destroy them, too.'_

* * *

The ready room was a decently-sized shack like structure to the side of the hangar. Alex put a vest on over his uniform. While doing so, an edge on the vest caught Alex's sleeve and pulled it up to his elbow. Standing next to him, Fencer and Huxian saw his exposed forearm.

'Holy shit.' Fencer muttered. Running up to just below his elbow was a long series of warped and black skin. Scars. Burn scars. Alex fit his vest on before bringing the sleeve back down and securing it.

'Oops.' Alex waved the concern off as he put his gloves on. Huxian nodded sarcastically, leaving Alex to his own devices.

'Oops? The hell happened to your arm?' Fencer. Alex shook his head while slipping on his helmet.

'Arms got caught in a fire when I was a kid.'

'And that was it?'

'That was it. Strider, we set?'

'Yep.' All three members said.

'Outstanding. Let's go.' Alex, Jaeger, Skald and Lanza exited the room and went for their respective aircraft. Everyone flew the F-35B, the Osean Armed Force's most capable VTOL aircraft. Cyclops Squadron with Wiseman, Fencer and Huxian followed shortly after. The DSRU aircraft were the standard maritime grey. Alex's F-35 was parked on the flight deck, so he had to go up the stairwell leading into the superstructure and through more hallways forward until he found the door leading to the parking space starboard of the angled ramp. Back in the Belkan War, this ship and most of her sister vessels had a Sea Dart SAM system in that area. Most of them, including _Orca, _had them replaced with more deck space for aircraft in the early 2000s. Alex's black F-35 was the one closest to the superstructure. The deck crew was busy arming and fuelling the fighter. He passed by all of them and climbed up into the cockpit. The APU was already active, powering the aircraft.

'Tower, Strider 1, checking in.' Blaze keyed the radio and transmitted.

'_Lima Charlie, Strider 1. Standby for tasking.'_ The air boss replied. Blaze strapped himself into the ejection seat, tightened the notepad strapped to his thigh and scratched his nose while waiting for the others to get ready and taxi. One of the crew ran out to a place where Blaze could clearly see him and gave a thumbs up. The former started the engine. One of the mini tractor vehicles came over and attached its tug to the front wheel of the F-35, navigating to the back of the flight deck. He would be the first to take off by the looks of things. A Merlin helicopter with a dome fitted to the side of it took off while Blaze lined up on the deck. Once it was clear of the ship, Blaze started providing more power to the engine.

'_Strider 1, clear for takeoff.' _The tower said. Blaze punched the engine forward and shot down the flight deck, up the ramp and into the air. Behind him, Strider followed. They went into a holding pattern around the ship, waiting for Cyclops. This didn't take long. The DSRU was airborne and on task.

'_Strider Squadron, let's go_.' Wiseman, leading Cyclops, indicated for Blaze and the others to follow.

_AIRCRAFT  
_Strider 1/Blaze - F-35B Lightning II

Strider 2-4 (Jaeger, Skald, Lanza) - F-35B Lightning II

Cyclops 1/Wiseman - F-35B Lightning II

Cyclops 2 and 3 (Fencer and Huxian) - F-35B Lightning II

At cruising speed, the flight would take half an hour. There was no talking until the squad got into visual range of the dock they would be attacking. The intelligence was correct. The big stone door that normally concealed the base was wide open. It was wide, easily enough space for a large group of aircraft to fly through.

'_Big._' Lanza said.

'The Eruseans continue to amaze me.' Blaze switched one of the screens in the cockpit to the targeting pod he was carrying and zoomed in towards the tunnel. That pod had a tracking laser on it. 'Tunnel is one kilometre long and about 100 metres wide. Target is alongside a pier in the bay beyond the tunnel. No obstructions or air defence.'

'_Perfect. Tell Rapier to keep their heads down, because this is about to get loud._' Wiseman. The Oseans had the advantage for now.

'Rog. Rapier, Strider 1, if you can hear me, lay low and avoid the target. We're launching…' Blaze watched the members armed with anti-ship missiles fire them. '...Now.'

'_Copy. Get to cover, incoming missile wave!'_ The leader replied and relayed this information to his men. The LRASMs carried by the F-35 flew over the ocean surface and into the tunnel, followed shortly by their launch platforms. The tunnel was dimly lit by yellow lights fit into the top and sides of the surrounding rock, enough for the seven pilots to see where they were going without hitting the wall. The missiles hit their target, ripping through the hull and exploding. The first wave consisted of nine LRASMs, packing enough heat to cause a fair amount of damage.

* * *

Inside the port, hiding behind a catwalk in the side of the bay, Force Recon squad leader Captain Jacob Riley saw the anti-ship missiles quickly zip in and pierce the hull of the _Norksoi, _as the ship was called according to its crew manifest. Cumulatively the missiles tore open several places in the hull, with one larger hole being formed by the impact of five in the same place. The roar of the explosions near deafened anyone without hearing protection.

'Good effect on target, multiple places in the hull have been opened!' Riley shouted to get past his tinnitus.

* * *

Blaze and Wiseman were at the head of the formation, their respective squads leading close behind. There was little room for error. In the confined space of the tunnel, if anyone strayed off for even a second, they would most likely crash and burn. Halfway through, the formation slowed down and went into hover mode. They all had missiles. No bombing runs today, there was not enough space for an aircraft to maneuver in there while evading return fire. Blaze cycled to his Hellfire missiles, ready to destroy the Yuktobanian vessel.

'_Strider, cease fire, the vessel is rolling over and sinking!'_ The Marines announced.

'_That was easy.' _Lanza remarked.

'Too easy.' Blaze wasn't convinced. 'Rapier, can you see a propulsion pod?'

'_Standby.'_ Captain Riley went silent for a minute before coming back on the net. '_Singular pumpjet on the centreline._'

'Dragonet-class. Wiseman, our intel was off.' Blaze rolled his shoulders and exhaled.

'_The image was a Scinfaxi. This is the place. Where the hell did it go?' _Fencer. Everyone was confused. Granted, they had sunk a vital asset. But it wasn't the one they had originally intended to sink.

'_Let's stay focused people. Orca, Long Caster, has the target appeared on radar or sonar?_' Wiseman took the logical route and asked for support to check if anything had moved.

'_Crownest hasn't picked up any new contacts. We're too far out to check anything on sonar.'_ Long Caster replied first.

'_Transmitting to NAVSAT. Should have imaging up in a minute.' _The intelligence officer on the _Orca _replied shortly after Long Caster.

'Strider, back out of the tunnel.' Blaze rotated on the spot and tilted forward to get out of the tunnel, narrowly avoiding striking Skald on the way out. All four pilots shortly followed by Cyclops managed to get outside and into normal flight mode.

'_Cyclops 1, Orca, no new imaging suggesting a transfer prior to your arrival.' _

Blaze flipped up his visor and rubbed his eyes. He needed a moment to think. The water directly underneath the tunnel was too shallow for a sub to go through submerged. No other tunnels out to sea. Couldn't come out from above, nor below-

-_Wait. Did they? It's the only way they could get out without us seeing._

'Orca, Strider 1, scramble ASW helicopters and escorts to the waters around the base. The submarine got out through an underwater tunnel.' Blaze requested urgently.

'_Strider, Cyclops, return to carrier to rearm and refuel. Anti-submarine warfare aircraft will be deployed.' _The operations officer from the _Orca_ ordered the two squadrons. Blaze checked his fuel gauge by instinct. Just over half.

'Strider, return. We'll hit it if we find her.' Resigning to orders, Blaze banked to the north and flew forwards, followed by his three.

'_Cyclops, follow._' The formation trailed north for a while before shifting slightly to the west to catch up with the carrier. They passed one of _Orca's _Merlin ASW helicopters about three quarters of the way through.

* * *

The Merlin that the F-35s had just passed, Firefly 5-3, slowed down and dropped to a few metres above the water before ejecting a cylinder out the back of the helicopter. It hit the surface of the water and quickly went under. A sonobuoy. A petty officer in the cabin of the Merlin checked that the sonobuoy was transmitting back to the helicopter and turned up his headset. This was the first sonobuoy dropped in the water, a passive receiver, by the _Orca's _helicopter squadrons. Almost instantly, the operator started to fine-tune the range of sound coming through the headset and listened in more intently.

'Prop noise. She's close.' Electronics Technician 2nd Class Leffer said to the crew around him.

'Drop an active buoy.' The crew commander ordered the pilot, who had control of their release. The pilot did so and a second cylinder dropped into the ocean. It sunk and started pinging. After a moment of processing a solid contact appeared on Leffer's screen.

'Sierra 1 redesignated Master 1. Three clicks from the buoy, doing 20 knots. Heading is 350.'

'_Identified as Scinfaxi-class submarine missile carrier. Firefly 5-3, you are permitted to engage.'_

'Leffer!' The commander called out. 'Weapons release on my mark. Mark!'

From a rack mounted on the side of the Merlin, Firefly 5-3 dropped a pair of projectiles. Stingray anti-submarine torpedoes. Two parachutes dragged from the back of them, slowing their descent into the water. Once they hit the water and went under, the active sonar on the torpedoes pinged and locked onto their target. The torpedos accelerated.

* * *

'_All elements, target has been engaged._'

Blaze looked back at the helicopter they had passed. He saw that it had engaged. He banked around to head towards the engagement. He couldn't help directly, but if the sub surfaced, _then _he would be able to cause some damage.

'This is Strider 1, requesting CEC link.' Without an answer, Blaze's tracking data updated to show the submarine moving rapidly underwater along with the torpedoes chasing it. Surprisingly she wasn't too far under. One of the torpedoes disappeared as it closed on the sub, a milisecond later throwing up water on the surface. The second did the same, exploding and splashing upwards.

'_Scinfaxi has been hit. Ballast noise. She's coming to the surface.' _Firefly reported. Blaze was surprised. For a massive submarine carrier, they were surprisingly incapable of remaining underwater once damaged. The shadow of the boat became visible in the water shortly before the entire metal hulk appeared from the depths in a spray of water. Its various defensive weapons popped out from mounts in the hull, a missile shooting out from a VLS port in the middle of the sub's island structure. _Uh oh, _Blaze thought.

'Firefly, get away from the sub!' He called to the slow and defenseless ASW helicopter as it started getting lit the fuck up by AA weaponry. It didn't last long as the explosive shells swatted it out of the sky.

'_Firefly 5-3, mayday-_' The pilot transmitted, quickly cut off by the helicopter exploding into many fragments.

'All elements, burst missiles in the air, evade!' The next apparent threat were the dreaded burst missiles. 'Aircraft, get away or climb above 5000 feet!'

Onboard the _Orca, _the ship's commander, aware of what burst missiles could do to surface vessels, turned to the helmsman.

'Engines all ahead flank, come north!' He directly ordered the seaman. While _Orca _was small by carrier standards, she was a hell of a lot faster and more maneuverable at sea than her _Hubert-_class counterparts.

Blaze wasted no time in beginning his attack despite the missile above his head. Hellfires and other sorts of missiles armed, he launched a salvo of ten missiles directly into the port where the burst missiles were fired from. They all hit at the same time, blasting a small but deep hole in the launcher that ran through it and a few decks under. The launcher destroyed, Blaze then decided at that moment to pull away from the AA guns shooting at him and to get above the detonation height. Tracers followed his rapid ascent. Blaze managed to get to a safe height a few seconds before the missile detonated in several flashes of white, sending steel rain in all directions. The DSRU pilots were all above the missile and were safe. _Orca _barely managed to get out of the missile's detonation range, but escaped unscathed she did.

'_Everyone, engage.' _Wiseman ordered. Blaze was happy to oblige, diving down again with Hellfires deployed and armed, his target being the AA batteries firing at the attacking F-35s. From a height of just over a kilometre, Blaze released an eight-round salvo targeted for separate weapons. A couple of them were intercepted by the cloud of flak but most made it through and disabled or destroyed the great majority of the guns on deck. Cyclops with their own high volume of Hellfires dived down and did the same, stripping away every weapon that the super sub was armed with, leaving the ship defenceless against aircraft attack. The upper hull of the vessel was peppered with small but deep-reaching holes, courtesy of the HEAT warheads mounted in the Hellfires.

'Strider, anti-ship missile attack, finish them off!' Blaze ordered his squadron to unload on the vessel with their remaining LRASMs. They went down to sea level, came around and released the missiles at short range for anti-ship missiles. A salvo of twelve missiles. They acquired their target on radar and boosted forward to strike the long end of the sub. After a few seconds of flight time the missiles hit between the starboard side engine pod and the central structure in even segments metres apart, the tungsten penetrator punching clean through the external hull, into the pressure hull and detonating the 1,000 pound fragmentation warheads. The effect was devastating for the ship, the metal fragments contained in the warheads tearing through absolutely everything. Electronics, internal systems, piping, crew members, if it was in the way it was now swiss cheese. Water started rapidly flooding into the submarine's ruined compartments.

'Jesus. I wish we had these back in 2010.' Blaze commented on the effectiveness of the LRASMs as the damaged _Scinfaxi_-class vessel started listing over to one side, flooding on the starboard side. Back in the day, the LRASM wasn't in service and the Harpoon was nowhere near as effective against big targets.

'_Big boy is sinking. That was easier than I expected.' _Jaeger said.

'I'll second that. Damn.' Blaze agreed and was pushing himself into a more comfortable sitting position when a red light popped up on Blaze's dashboard and a warning sound came through his headset. He recognised the error. Low fuel. 'Ah fuck.'

'_What's the problem, boss?'_ Blaze had said this over the radio, so Lanza heard it.

'Low fuel. Need to return to the carrier.' Blaze reduced his speed to just above stall speed so he could go as far as possible on his extremely low fuel.

'_How much do you have left?_' Wiseman asked.

'At max conserve, forty kilometres max, maybe forty-five if I glide.'

'_That's a death wish at best. Orca, Cyclops 1, we need a tanker in the air ASAP.' _

'_Last I checked sir, helicopters can't refuel fighters. Best we can do is position for recovery.'_ The controlling officer was snarky, for a reason. The DSRU F-35s were the only fixed-wing aircraft embarked on the _Orca, _and they were all airborne.

'Heading on. Strider, what's your fuel condition?' Blaze asked, seeing if he would be able to try something.

'_Enough to standby for holding pattern.' _Jaeger.

'_Same._' Skald.

'_Just below half.' _Lanza.

'Hmm. Orca, Strider 1, if possible erect a barrier. I'll freeball it onto the deck.' The barrier was a padded metal net designed for urgent recovery of aircraft needing to land onboard. While usually made for smaller runways and CATOBAR carriers, smaller versions did exist on VTOL carriers. Blaze flew for five minutes as his fuel gradually ran out. On his reserve tanks, he boldly decided to put as much thrust in as possible to glide. The fuel ran out and all of the F-35's electrical systems shut down. Blaze now had to freeball his approach onto a runway 200 metres long and about 20 metres wide, moving at ten knots. He turned on the APU and reactivated his radio so he could hear.

'_3 miles to carrier. Adjust up._' The landing safety officer, LSO, advised. Blaze did so to keep the approach lined up. He glided through the next two.

'_1 mile to carrier. Slow down-_' The APU died along with the electrical system and Blaze's fly-by-wire.

'Fuck. Here we go.' Blaze placed a hand on the ejection handle should he need it. Its operation was completely mechanical. The deck was fast approaching. He inhaled as he crossed the stern of the ship and hit the runway. There was a rough bounce as he landed followed by the entire aircraft skidding and starting to roll down the runway. The canopy above his head cracked and broke, crushed under the weight and ground.

'FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!' Blaze screamed before his head was slammed into the back of his seat and he blacked out.


	29. More Random Lore Bits

**More lore stuff. May or may not be relevant to what's happening. **

CPT Michael Markus Webber, OADF - Callsign _Huntsman. _Age 38, born in Aulick. Michael is a veteran and ace of the Cirum-Pacific War (having joined the Air Force in 2007). He has flown the same F-15E since he joined. Commander of the 242nd Wing's Wolf Squadron. Earned his callsign through his method of aerial combat.

2LT Sara Hunter, OADF - Callsign _Mythic. _Age 20, born in Saint Hewlett. Sara's parents were both pilots who flew in the Belkan War. She has a natural flying ability and reactions much faster than most people. Newest member of the 242nd Wing's Titan Squadron. Earned her callsign through her fighting capability in her first combat engagement. Flight ability is on par with that of many famous aces, including Razgriz members.

1LT Edward Campbell, OADF - Callsign _Taipan._ Age 23, born in Aulick. An average person in an average city who joined the military to spite his parents (both anti-war supporters). Initially joined the Air Force as a loadmaster in 2014, but his ability to think quickly along a keen attitude for flight led to a recommendation from Grimm to attend pilot school. Member of the 242nd Wing's Wolf Squadron. Earned his callsign through quick and precise methods of operation, and his height (6' 4").

_Avenger _\- An incomplete _Scinfaxi-_class submarine bought and completed by the Eruseans to bolster their naval capacity in response to the Lighthouse War. It was destroyed by the DSRU before it could commence operations against Osea.

Deep Strike and Reconnaissance Unit (DSRU) - A specialist aerial warfare unit. Primary mission is to attack unprotected targets deep behind enemy lines and to spy on enemy movement to prepare for later invasions. The DSRU is the precursor of the LRSSG. The unit consists of the OADF's Strider and Cyclops Squadron, their respective mission commander (Long Caster) and the aircraft carrier OFS _Orca. _

OFS _Orca _(R14) - _Invincible_-class S/VTOL aircraft carrier. Part of the Osean Navy's strike force plan, _Orca _was commissioned in 1980. She didn't see action in the Belkan War but was part of a maritime strike group in the Circum-Pacific War, seeing a single skirmish against the Yuktobanians just before the war ended. Talon served on the _Orca _from 2010 to 2012.

242nd Tactical Fighter Wing - Fighter wing of the Air Force. Split into two separate squadrons (Titan and Wolf) respectively, the 242nd is based at Sand Island Air Force Base. Commanded by Major Hans Grimm, Titan uses the Typhoon while Wolf uses the F-15E.


	30. Chapter 28 - 444

**A/N: Trialling a different style of writing. Gonna see how this goes over a chapter or two. **

**Also, credit to Zamazenta for a minor bit of inspiration.**

* * *

_**POV: Grimm**_

Grimm, Webber, Hunter and Campbell flew over the cool tropical waters. Flying in a freshly supplied Typhoon, Grimm was constantly monitoring the outside world and his radar display. The place they were going to was often contested by the Eruseans.

'_Incoming friendly fighters, this is AWACS Bandog, the base is currently under attack. I would advise holding off until our squad deals with them.'_ The AWACS hovering over the base reported to them. Grimm checked his radar. Indeed, at the edge of his range he could see enemy fighters and bombers fighting friendly interceptors.

'Let's see if we can help. Squad, head on.' Grimm ordered his squadron to approach the airbase and assist with shooting down the enemy fighters.

**July 1st, 2019**

**Operation High Card**

_**POV: Blaze**_

'_Spare Squadron, you have four friendly fighters approaching the area of operations. Make yourselves targets so that they can shoot down the enemy fighters._' Bandog informed the convict pilots. Sitting on the ground in the cockpit of his original Su-33M3, Blaze heard this as he and a half-dozen convicts were exiting the hangar and preparing to take off. He opened the command radio link.

'Bandog, are these our new advisors?' He asked.

'_242nd Squadron fighters. It would appear so.'_ Bandog answered.

'Rog.' Blaze led the six convicts out onto the taxiway. He was about to take lead when a MiG-29 rushed past him, forcing the commander to stop to not run into him. 'Appreciate the spirit Champ, but _try _to avoid ramming others off the runway?'

'_Sorry, force of habit._' Champ apologised mockingly, earning the laughter of Count, High Roller and the squadron's newest addition. A pilot with three sin lines on his tail. He pushed past the remaining fighters waiting on the taxiway, causing Blaze to stop in a hurry again.

'All flights, watch out for Trigger, he's doing a Champ.' Blaze warned anyone else nearby.

'_Woo-hoo! My blood's boilin'!_' Champ shouted as he rushed down the runway with afterburners lit and shooting into the sky. Trigger rolled onto the runway in his F-15C and as quickly as he had gotten there rolled down the runway and up into the skies. Blaze, Count, High Roller, Full Band and Tabloid followed closely behind, taking off in pairs within a few seconds of each other. Blaze was the first of the remaining group to get in the sky.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Spare 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Spare 15/Trigger - F-15C Eagle_

_Titan 1/Archer - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Titan 2/Webber - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Titan 3/Taipan - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Titan 4/Mythic - Typhoon FGR.4_

'_Oh great, the FCS is locked again. Are we ever going to have fun in these things?'_ Count complained about the fire control being shut down for the convict aircraft. Blaze, the head advisor, used a Sidewinder to blast away an F-15C that was attempting to go after the aircraft taking off, leaving a smoking wreck flying into the waters surrounding the airfield.

'_Prisoners use nothing without supervision. Not even a pencil._' Bandog replied to Count's complaint.

'_Hey, we have the goddamn avatar of Razgriz over here watching us.'_ Trigger commented.

'_The murderer has a point. Anyone steps out of line, he could take the offender.' _High Roller agreed with Trigger.

'Sounds fair to me.' Blaze thought the idea was good.

'_Hmm. Colonel McKinsey?' _Bandog called the person ultimately in charge of making the decision.

There was a minute of silence before the jailer answered. '_Commander Williams, if you can silence any betrayals, I will permit convicts to use their weapons.'_

'That, I can do.'

'_Very well. Bandog, unlock the FCS._' McKinsey ordered the AWACS operator.

'_This is a bad idea._' Bandog muttered as he did so.

_**POV: Trigger**_

Trigger heard a buzzing sound followed by his HUD displaying his weapons as green instead of red, indicating that they could be used.

'Hey, weapons are free. Orders?' He remarked before asking Blaze.

'_Engage fighters and bombers. Keep them away from the airfield._' Blaze answered, all the while going after a small group of MiG-29s. Satisfied, Trigger began his counter-attack on the enemy. His first group of targets was a pair of Tu-95s being escorted by F-15Js. Using AMRAAMs he made the three escorting F-15s disappear and followed up very quickly with Sidewinders directed at the vulnerable bombers. They made spectacular explosions with full loads of fuel and weapons.

An F-15C in a blue splinter camo instead of the typical Erusean forest blobs struck at him with missiles. Trigger heard the warning through the RWR and tightly turned to evade. He squeezed his core as he turned to ward off the effects of over-g-ing. The missile couldn't turn hard enough to keep up and missed. The attacking F-15 shot over his head. Trigger turned to give chase, becoming the attacker. Preferring not to use his missiles in a dogfight, he used his cannon to attack the Erusean. The first burst missed, but the second one caught the canopy of the F-15, breaking through it and killing the pilot. Without anyone at the controls, it spiralled out of control and hit the ground shortly after, exploding.

'_I think that was the squadron leader. Good job, Trigger.' _Blaze complimented the new guy on shooting down the enemy ace.

'_Guy moves quick. Must be good at what he's in here for.' _Full Band. Trigger paid no mind to what had just been said about him and instead continued to intercept individual enemy fighters. F-15s, MiG-29s, Su-33s, whatever he could get his fangs on, he shot down without mercy.

'_Hey Trigger, keep an eye on your head count. We can compare later. Heh.' _Count.

'_My money's on Trigger.' _Blaze commented. '_Speaking of head count. Three new groups, north, west and east. Intercept._'

Trigger went after the group to the north, four bombers with eight escorts at a considerably higher altitude than the other two groups. A black Su-33 joined him in the climb. Blaze.

'I've got the bombers.' Trigger said to him.

'_I'll distract the escorts.' _Blaze boosted forward and blind-fired a missile through the middle of the formation to catch the attention of the escorting fighters. They took the bait and dived after the single Su-33. This allowed Trigger to slip past, release a wave of AMRAAMs at the now-defenceless bombers, pick off the one straggler that the fourth missile missed and dived back down to help Blaze destroy the escorts. There was no need for the last part. By the time Trigger went back down to help, Blaze had already destroyed seven of the escorts and was in the process of shooting down the last man when Trigger regained sight on him. Trigger whistled to himself and banked to go hit the other groups that the other convicts were intercepting. The western group was being picked apart by the better convict pilots, Count, Champ and Tabloid. However, the east group was largely unopposed.

'_Bombers are passing over the airfield. Eliminate them!' _Bandog pointed this out.

Trigger didn't have to be told twice, and at standoff range loosed off AMRAAMs to destroy the bombers from long range. This worked for the Tu-160s and Tu-95s in the group. However, the F-15E fighter bombers could evade them, prompting the two to get in close and destroy them once the dedicated bombers were downed. Trigger got there first in the faster but less agile F-15, using his cannon to destroy one that got in the way. Blaze followed shortly behind, some of the random Spare pilots also coming along to assist. An F-16 deftly got in the middle of the engagement and shot down one F-15E. The latter's wingman intercepted the F-16.

'_Keystone, bandit on your tail, evade!'_ Blaze said to the convict.

'_Trying to, bastard's stubborn.'_ Keystone replied quickly, undertaking every manner of maneuver to get the fighter off his tail. None of them were working. Before the F-15 could get a solid lock and shoot down Keystone, Trigger dashed in and sent a Sidewinder at close range up the tailpipe of the F-15, destroying it. Keystone could be heard audibly letting out a breath.

'_Cheers for the assist.' _Keystone flew away from the centre of the engagement to go hit up some stragglers.

_**POV: Grimm**_

'_Friendly squadron has wiped out most of the enemy forces. For a bunch of criminals, I'm impressed.' _Huntsman was amused.

'444 Squadron, this is the 242nd, we're entering your airspace.' Grimm reported to the controller on the ground.

'_There's still a handful of targets in the skies. Huntsman, Fox 3.'_ Huntsman locked with AMRAAMs and fired at an Su-33. His missile hit and tore the fighter in two. Grimm and Mythic moved in to get closer to the action. Not enough time. By the time they were over the airfield, the attackers had been wiped down to the last man. The convict pilots flew around doing fancy maneuvers. Two pilots of the 20 or so were more disciplined, flying on steady paths. Spare 1 and Spare 15 according to their IFF. Spare 1 was flying a black and flames Su-33.

_Wonder who that might be, _Grimm thought to himself before contacting to check. 'Blaze, Archer.'

'_Hi, I'm Blaze, welcome to Jackass.' _Blaze was quick to answer. He was indeed Alex Williams. '_All Spare elements, hostiles eliminated, return to base.' _Blaze ordered his squadron.

_**POV: Blaze**_

'Who's the new guy with the three sin lines?' Blaze asked the base commander. Aside from the takeoff fiasco on the ground, he didn't seem any different from a regular Air Force pilot, and he certainly had skill.

'_Who, Trigger? Our newest murderer.'_ McKinsey replied. The Spare pilots were talking in the background but he didn't pay mind to what the topic was.

'We have other murderers in the unit and they don't have three strikes.'

'_Well, he's also been convicted of identity fraud and disobeying orders, but that's another story.' _Bandog answered before McKinsey could.

'Fair enough. Guy's got promise, I can say that at least.'

'_They're prisoners, nothing more.' _

Blaze rolled his eyes and did a few circles around the airfield while waiting for Spare Squadron to land. After 15 minutes of formation flying with Grimm and his crew, Blaze came in to land. There was a light bounce as his landing gear hit the ground. He went around the taxiway, Grimm, Webber, Campbell and Hunter following behind in their aircraft. They parked in the hardened aircraft shelter adjacent to the main hangar. Everyone dismounted their aircraft and went to the nearby ready room.

'I see you brought your squadron with you.' Alex said to Grimm as they walked. 'What happened?'

'Erusean experimental fighter squadron found us. The result wasn't pretty.' He answered, helmet in hand.

'Mihaly?' Alex asked. He had encountered the ace Erusean before. He wondered if Grimm had as well.

'Yep.'

'Shit.' The five entered the ready room so they could get out of their gear and into working uniforms. Alex's locker was next to where Webber's was allocated. Alex recognised the latter.

'Captain Webber?' Alex asked the man.

'That's me, captain.' Webber turned to face the Razgriz uber-ace. 'And please, call me Michael.'

'Alex. I read about your exploits in southern Yuktobania, Michael. Stuff of legends.' Alex complimented the older Air Force captain.

Michael laughed. 'I think you're several magnitudes above me, but thanks.'

* * *

_**POV: Trigger**_

Back in the hangar, Eric '_Trigger' _Kovac was escorted away from the rest of the other pilots. The latter were being directed back to the prisoners block. Trigger noticed that he was being escorted to another place in the hangar.

'Where am I going?' He asked the guard a metre or two behind him.

'Command hears you have a history in maintenance of aircraft. You're going to the mechanic's block.' The guard replied, sneering. They went through a cutout door in the larger sliding door that led to where they were going. Inside this new room was a messy collection of decommissioned aircraft and spare parts. Roughly in the middle of it was a single woman, about Trigger's age, working on a fire-damaged A-10C.

'Avril!' The guard barked. 'You've got a new mechanic friend. Make use of him.' The guard pushed Trigger forward and left, shutting and locking the door the two had come through. Trigger looked at the door for a second with a look of disdain, shook his head and approached the woman.

'Oh great.' Avril muttered quietly.

'You do _not _look like military material.' Trigger commented on Avril's appearance, also noting the metal brace on one of her legs._ An injury?_

'I'm not, but it doesn't matter. I'm here all the same.' Avril answered without looking at her new assistant.

'Fair point.' Trigger looked at the wings of the A-10. They were peppered with bullet holes and black charring. He looked around the hangar. There was another A-10 towards the door leading onto the taxiway that was in even worse condition. However, it's wings appeared to be intact.

'What are you working on right now?' He asked while walking to the more damaged A-10. Avril frowned and looked at Trigger. _He's actually willing to be helpful?_

'Replacing the steel tub in the cockpit.' Avril answered.

'I'll swap out the wings and see if I can replace the hydraulic lines. That thing isn't flying without them.' Trigger looked for the closest set of power tools and a lift. Avril raised her eyebrows and grinned.

_Yep, he's willing to help. _


	31. Chapter 29 - Long Day

_July 4th, 2019_

_Operation One Pair_

_Roca Roja_

_Your mission is to atone for your crimes by attracting the enemy's attention. First, I want you to head from the base to the desert region of Roca Roja to the northwest. And then second you'll attack the large Erusean base there. We've been unable to verify that base's ability to deal with fighters. You will attack and provoke the enemy into revealing their AA strategy. Get them to fire at you as much as you can. That way we can confirm where they're firing from. Then, it's a case of sending in our regular force to clean them out. For this mission, we've prepared a frontline base that can be used for ammo replenishment and aircraft repairs. However, this is not for you guys. Only the regular force and your advisors have permission to use it. Even if you run out of ammo, don't forget that you're just decoys. You stay out there as targets for the enemy._

In the advisor's ready room, Alex held out a fistful of straws.

'Draw a straw. Only two of us are going out today.' He said to the four pilots around him. Everyone drew one at the same time and compared them. Whoever drew the short straw would be going up with Alex and ten convicts. Hunter had the shortest. Alex nodded towards her.

'Congratulations Mythic, you're with me.'

'Very cool.' Hunter said, going to her locker and pulling her gear out. Alex was already wearing his gear, including the helmet with red and orange flames painted on it. Before leaving the room for his aircraft, Alex grabbed a kneeboard from the locker and strapped it to his thigh. It had photos of three separate bases in a desert, the words Roca Roja drawn in bold above each photo. Their targets. He checked his watch. _1500_.

'Tower, this is Blaze, Spare Squadron is clear for takeoff. Myself and Mythic will be up in a minute.' Alex said on his personal radio as he walked out of the crew room to the HAS. Hunter was quick to catch up to the 12-year older commander.

_AIRCRAFT: _

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Titan 4/Mythic - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Spare 2/Count - Su-33 Flanker-D_

_Spare 6/Full Band - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Spare 7/High Roller - F-16A Fighting Falcon_

_Spare 8/Champ - MiG-29A Fulcrum_

_Spare 9/Keystone - F-16CJ Block 52 Viper_

_Spare 15/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Everyone else - irrelevant_

_**POV: Blaze**_

Blaze cracked his neck as he rose up into the air, chasing after the formation that he had permitted to leave the runway. Mythic was by his side. They afterburnt to catch up with the convicts.

'Good evening pilots, this is your chauffeur speaking. You already heard the mission objective. Roca Roja is an hour's time away by aircraft, so get comfortable and head on this bearing. That is all.' Blaze said to them while taking the lead position and matching speed with everyone else. No-one said anything throughout the flight, so the travel to get from Zapland to the target area was uneventful. In theory the mission was simple. Hammer the AA defences in three different locations to soften the base up for an assault from the regular military. In practise, it probably wasn't going to be that easy. Blaze expected losses.

After an hour of flight, the 444 Squadron were arriving at the edge of the area of operations.

'_Some welcome.' _Bandog said, noticing that their approach had been unnoticed by the Erusean air defence teams. '_All aircraft, spread out and attack.' _

'_We're clear to attack right?' _Count asked. '_I heard that regular forces were going to clean things up.' _

'Attack everything that's not us, and be a target for the AA if you run out of ammo.' Blaze answered the question. 'Spare Squadron, engage.'

'_Boss, I think Trigger's a step ahead of you.' _Keystone saw the F-15 pilot already over the airfield in front of them pounding ground targets with AGMs and bombs. Blaze himself looked at the guy. Indeed, Trigger was in the thick of things, shredding away the AA guns and gas storage tanks with Maverick AGMs and hitting the Tu-160 bombers with unguided but deadly 500lb bombs. On the runway, Erusean F-16Cs were scrambling to intercept the squadron that had suddenly appeared. Black puffs of smoke started appearing in the skies but were quickly silenced when the Osean pilots dived in to attack and destroy the AA guns that were firing the flak rounds. Blaze arrived over the top of the airfield, armed with a Sniper XR targeting pod and laser-guided 1000lb GBUs, and started dropping them on any armoured targets that Trigger either missed or couldn't swifty destroy. There weren't many. Blaze destroyed the control tower and a couple of the hardened aircraft shelters before moving on to destroy the F-16s that were climbing to meet Spare Squadron. Armed with the ever-useful Sidewinder, he swatted two away with the AIM-9. A third flared away the missile intended for him, forcing Blaze to use the cannon to get rid of him.

Somewhere above him, Mythic was running air cover with a couple of the convicts. The F-16s and F-4s defending did not stand a chance against the Typhoon in the hands of a skilled pilot. Mythic shot down four F-16s in quick succession from across the area of operations. She then closed in on a pair of F-4Es, taking both out with precisely-aimed Sidewinders. The F-16 and Mirage 2000 following her could barely keep up.

'_Do you think she needs our help?' _High Roller remarked to Tabloid. He had only shot down a single F-4 while Mythic had bagged six, which rose to eight as she took down another pair of F-4s.

'_Do you think we could do anything to help her?' _Tabloid answered sarcastically. Knowing the answer, High Roller split off to go attack ground targets.

_**POV: Trigger **_

While Mythic dealt with air targets, Trigger rushed through the canyons of the north-eastern facility, releasing Maverick AGMs at every AA weapon and tank that he passed by as he flew through at supersonic speeds. His attacks were lethal. Anything and everything in front of him died. Even a bridge that crossed two of the plateaus was severed when its foundations were destroyed by Trigger's missiles.

'_Targets destroyed. Trigger again?' _One of the convicts was surprised at the ferocity of Trigger's attack. At the end of the F-15E pilots attack run, a trio of AV-8B Harriers were taking off in VTOL mode. Two were stopped then and there by Trigger's 20mm cannon. The last he moderately damaged but didn't quite destroy. Blaze picked up on this fact.

'_Break right. I've got him.' _He said. Trigger breaked right as instructed, a split second before a black Su-33 appeared from above one of the plateaus, shot past Trigger at high speed and nailed the Harrier with a blind-dropped GBU. Not a missile. A bomb. Blaze then rushed along the route that Trigger had taken to get in and using his own missiles destroyed a few AA guns, some AH-64 attack helicopters and the remaining SAM sites that were sitting on the tops of the cliffs surrounding the valley. With the destruction of the AA, the only thing left in the base were storage warehouses which were dealt with by the Super Hornet flying members of the squadron in a large boom.

Trigger saw the accomplishments of his squad leader, whistled to himself and shot off for the north-western base. The other two had virtually been eliminated. _And to think that it's only been five minutes, _Trigger thought.

_**POV: Blaze**_

Blaze got out of the valley and was met quickly by Champ coming in with a low-level bomb run and wiping out a convoy of supply trucks heading to the base that Blaze and Trigger had just destroyed. The MiG-29 pilot turned away from the now-burning convoy and went west to engage in combat with the last remaining base and its defenders.

'_You guys are doing well,' _Bandog said to Blaze over private radio. '_We may not have to deploy the regulars at this pace._'

'If Trigger keeps doing his job, this entire region is gonna be blanketed in smoke.' Blaze replied in kind.

'_Speaking of smoke, incoming fighters, bearing 280. Drones, MQ-99s.'_

'How many?' Blaze asked. He had dealt with them in the past when he had entered the war at Oured. Individually they were easy to destroy. In swarms, it got more complicated.

'_A dozen. Should be easy to deal with.' _

'Rog.' Blaze switched to the Spare channel. 'Heads up, 12 drones coming in from 280.'

'_Great fuckin' timing.' _Champ said with grit in his teeth.

'_Now what?' _Full Band.

'_The mission stays the same. Eliminate the base.' _Bandog.

'Mythic, High Roller, Count, Trigger, intercept the drones. Everyone else, keep hitting the base.' Blaze ordered.

'_Roger.' _The answer was unanimous. The four pilots rose into the skies to chase the drones that were incoming to kick their asses. Blaze joined the counter-intercept formation. Forming a line, the five approached the drones.

'Bag them at range, drones are not fun to dogfight against.' Blaze said to the others, leading with example by launching sets of AMRAAMs at the drones. He bagged two. Mythic got three, Count and High Roller got two each and Trigger got the last three. Minimal effort, all drones down.

'_Well that was easy.' _Count was mildly disappointed.

'_Too easy. Commander, are there any other fighters in the area?_' Trigger was also disappointed. Blaze checked his radar. The only aircraft in the area were south-east, a trio of F-4s, and a single F-14D coming from the west.

'You could go chase the F-14 or the F-16s. Your choice.' He looked down at the ground. By the looks of things, the last remaining base had been hammered by Spare Squadron.

'_Okay. You've hit the enemy base enough. Head back.' _Bandog ordered. Blaze looked around himself. _It's only been ten minutes. Christ. _

'_So, I think this unit would work fine with the advisors and Trigger alone.' _Tabloid said.

'_I don't think so. Ground targets are easy to destroy.' _Count replied. While he wasn't wrong, there had been a lot of them and between the three they had all been destroyed in a short amount of time.

'_Yeah, but did you see Trigger? He blasted an entire valley at supersonic speeds. Mythic bagged every fighter that got anywhere near us.' _Tabloid countered.

'_I just want to know who they are and where they came from. Hey Full Band, can you look into that for us?' _Keystone. There were a few seconds of silence from the F/A-18E pilot.

'_Sure. I'll see what I can dig up.' _

On the command net, Mythic spoke. '_That Trigger guy is good.' _

'Very good.' Blaze replied, looking over at the man's F-15E. 'Very good.'


	32. Chapter 30 - Trigger

**Zapland Air Force Base**

**July 6th, 2019**

On a laptop in his cell, Full Band scanned over a document that he had managed to snag from the prisoner records.

_Name: Kovac, Eric Paul (assumed, may be false)_

_Branch: Air Force_

_Rank: First Lieutenant_

_Role: Pilot, Fast Attack_

_Callsign: 'Trigger'_

_Service number: 574235235_

_DOB: 1st November, 1995 (age 23)_

_Entered service: 13th July, 2018 (age 22)_

_Service History: 49th Tactical Fighter Squadron (13th July - 18th December 2018), 501st Weapons Squadron (20th December 2018 - 13th May 2019), 508th Tactical Fighter Squadron (15th May - June 10th 2019), 444th Air Base Squadron (July 1st - Present) _

_Status: Active, Dishonourable Service to Convict Squadron_

_Reason: Murder of an Osean Defence Force service member, disobeying orders, ID theft_

_Aircraft qualifications: F-15C/D Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C/D Viper, A-10C Thunderbolt II_

'Hmm…' Full Band muttered to himself as he read the PDF. There wasn't anything in Trigger's file that would indicate an excellency at piloting. He had been an A-10 pilot for a little bit, which might have explained his proficiency at ground attack. But nothing else.

'Full Band.' Someone from outside the cell said his name. It wasn't one of the convicts. Full Band swore quietly and slowly shut the lid of the laptop.

'Yep.' Full Band resigned himself to his fate, placing his hands up in surrender. The officer frowned.

'Oh, you're not in trouble man. I was just wondering what you were looking at.' He said. Full Band looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Captain Webber.

'Ah. Erm, Trigger's service record.' Full Band answered honestly. Webber himself raised an eyebrow.

'I'll leave you to it then.' Webber raised his hat to Full Band and left the area. Full Band exhaled a breath that he didn't realise he had in his lungs and opened the lid of the laptop.

In the hangar across the runway from the accommodation block, Alex stood underneath his Su-33, tracing his fingers along the riveting in the hull, looking for any sort of damage or wear that needed to be repaired. Despite this being harder to see because of the black paint, Alex still managed. He didn't find anything. Alex took a step back and was overseeing the entire aircraft when a metallic clang rang out from behind him.

'Ah, fuck me.' Someone swore. Alex recognised the voice. Trigger. Alex walked over, ducking under and around the aircraft in between until he found himself looking at half a man climbing up an F-15E's intake.

'Trigger?' Alex called out to the pilot who was attempting to do mechanic things.

'Yeah?' Trigger called back, his voice muffled by the fuselage around him. Alex walked forwards and stopped at the ladder to the cockpit. Trigger's legs were hanging out of the intake.

'Why are you climbing inside your own fighter?' Alex asked, amused. Trigger finished whatever he was doing and shimmied out of the intake to face the commander. He had a wrench in his hand. He raised it to Alex.

'Kicked this thing into the intake by accident.' Trigger answered, putting the wrench in one of his many pockets.

'More importantly, _why _are you trying to do things to your plane? We have dedicated mechanics for that.' Alex said to Trigger.

'Structural ones, yeah. But I've yet to see an avionics engineer around here.' Trigger pointed out.

'You're talking to one.' Alex said. He _was _an avionics engineer by trade.

'As are you. I know my way around aircraft.'

'And I thought you were a pilot?'

'I am now. I was a mechanic for two years.'

'And a chef? I heard from Major Grimm.' Alex asked Trigger about his jobs.

'Also correct.'

'Well, you're the jack of all trades aren't you?'

'Pays to be prepared.' Trigger shrugged and went over to the open nose cone that concealed the radar. Alex took a few steps and followed. He frowned when he saw the radar. While he had never worked on F-15s, he had worked on F-35s and he was fairly certain the two didn't use the same radar.

'Was this your handiwork?' Alex asked, looking at the installation of the AN/APG-81 AESA radar. It was solid, with no visible faults.

'Fifty-fifty. I had some help from the Scrap Queen.' Trigger replied while making sure that the radar was securely mounted.

'Hmm. Well, if you know what you're doing, I'll leave you to your business.' Alex stepped back and then walked off, heading back towards the accommodation block. At night, the area was cool, covered by the Spring Sea breeze. The airfield was inactive save for roaming guard patrols. McKinsey and Bandog had decided, for some reason that Alex had yet to find out, that Spare Squadron wouldn't operate at night, much to the advantage of Erusean bomber attacks that struck at night. While they had been occurring less frequently as of late, there were a couple of times where they struck. There wasn't any point complaining about it however, because their attacks always hit the fake runway and facilities.

**July 11th, 2019**

Trigger was escorted into the maintenance block of the hangar by guards and left there late in the afternoon. Avril saw him enter.

'Hey Trigger, where have you been?' She asked the pilot/mechanic/chef.

'Mission briefing. We've got an operation tomorrow.' Trigger answered, dropping a kitbag on the bench in the corner of the room and approaching an F-14A they were working on for the fake airfield.

'What kind?' Avril asked, showing some interest as she approached the F-14.

'Ground attack. There's a series of radar sites and AA batteries cutting off the safe return of some Air Force recon squad.' Trigger answered again, climbing up a ladder to the body. There was a welding torch, sheets of metal and bolts on top of the body, all intended to patch a hole directly behind the cockpit.

'So the usual suicide mission then. What aircraft are you taking?' The third question that Avril asked caught Trigger's attention.

'Avril, are you planning an escape again?' Trigger stopped what he was doing and looked at the lady, resting her arms and chin on the intake of the Tomcat. Her legs were on the ladder.

'No…' She said, hesitating to speak for a moment. 'It's just, the only reason I'm here in the first place was because I built and flew my own aircraft. I can accept being here, but I want to be able to go in the skies at least.' Avril looked down at her injured leg and inhaled. When she looked up again, Trigger was in front of her.

'To answer the question, I'm flying my F-15E.' Trigger jumped down to the floor, grabbed a black spray can and a prefabricated letter bank from a workbench and opened the door to the adjacent storage hangar. Trigger's Strike Eagle was the closest to the mechanic block. He climbed the ladder up to the dual cockpit, pressed the letter bank against the lip of the RIO's seat and started spraying.

'What are you doing?' Avril asked, her hopes rising. She went down the ladder and walked over to Trigger. By the time she arrived at the base of the fighter, Trigger finished his painting and stepped down for Avril to see. The latter took a few rungs up the ladder to get a proper view.

_A. Mead_

'_Scrap Queen'_


	33. Chapter 31 - First Contact

_July 12th, 2019, 0900 Hours_

_Operation Two Pairs_

_Yinshi Valley_

'So these are the sort of missions you pilots get sent on?' Avril asked Trigger from the backseat of his F-15E.

'What, you thought our operations were glamorous?' Trigger retorted. Somehow he had managed to convince Blaze to let Avril come out on an operation.

_**POV: Blaze**_

Leading the mission's formation of seven pilots including Grimm, Mythic, Taipan and Webber, thunderclouds growled and rain poured down over most of the area. Far from ideal conditions for flying, especially in close quarters where the squad would be flying. No regular unit would have been deployed here, so in spite of being ordered to take ten convicts, Blaze had decided to take the advisors and the top flying convicts.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Titan 1/Archer - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Titan 2/Huntsman - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Titan 3/Taipan - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Titan 4/Mythic - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Spare 2/Count - Su-33 Flanker-D_

_Spare 9/Keystone - F-16CJ Block 52 Viper_

_Spare 15/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

'_Oh, you gotta be shitting me.' _Keystone said once the formation came into view of the area they would be flying through. Tall stone columns, narrow valleys and a nasty crosswind.

'Keep your wits about and you'll be fine.' Blaze reassured the squadron. 'Spare Squadron, cleared to engage.'

Blaze shot forward into the valleys without hesitation, followed closely by Grimm and Trigger. Everyone else split off to go attack separate targets. The first target was a pair of SAM batteries and a radar vehicle. Blaze, using cluster weaponry, dropped a single bomb on the trio. The individual charges separated from the bomb and detonated in a long strip, catching the entire site in the explosion and destroying it. He checked his tactical display. The closest series of targets was to the north. The other two areas were at the south-west of the AO.

'Grimm, Trigger, go after the AA sites to the south. I'll get the northern one.' Blaze ordered the other two, detaching from them at the closest valley that led to the north site. As he made the short turn to get into the right lane, someone spoke over the radio. Blaze recognised the voice from a squadron he had worked with a month ago.

'_Air Force Base 444 Squadron, this is Cyclops 1._' It was Wiseman. '_Cyclops and Strider Squadrons currently contain seven aircraft. Stand by. We'll be arriving shortly.' _

'Cyclops 1, Razgriz 1, copy that. We should have the SAM batteries eliminated down here in a hot minute.' Blaze answered the call before Bandog could.

'_Heh. Is that a demon I hear? We're low on ammunition. Gonna be hard to take on hostiles.' _Wiseman remembered Blaze.

'Worse comes to worse, we'll cover your retreat. Just make sure not to crash into anything.'

'_Roger that. We're coming.' _

Blaze was coming up on the northern-most AA and radar site. A ZSU nearby was anticipating the attack and started firing up at the skies that Blaze approached from. Refusing to get shot down by a ZSU a second time, Blaze pulled up to avoid the initial burst, dived in on the target and fired a missile first to get the ZSU. His missile hit, destroying it. With no short-range AA threats to worry about, Blaze looped around, turned to face the SAM batteries and dropped a cluster bomb on it. The same series of explosions he had gotten used to with cluster charges had destroyed the target, as expected.

_**POV: Trigger**_

At the south end, Trigger flew over the tops of the rock formations. Despite the weight and speed at which he was travelling, the crosswind was still rocking the F-15E from side to side. In the back, Avril was clenching the sides of the cockpit as the aircraft swayed.

'Oh my god, if I knew flying was this unstable…' She said through grit teeth. Trigger laughed.

'Normally fighter pilots don't go head first into a storm. Speaking of which, hold on!' Trigger warned Avril a split second before rolling so that the canopy was facing the ground, and flew into the valley, rolling upwards again once they were inside. There was a clunk from behind the cockpit as Trigger released a JDAM. The explosion from the bomb could be heard as Trigger passed over what he was aiming at. He orientated the aircraft to go for the last SAM site.

'_Stand off Trigger, I've got this.' _Grimm said to him.

'Copy.' Trigger pulled up and slowed down. Ahead of him, two small grey objects flew by. JSOW-ER glider bombs. They sharply climbed when they got close to the target, then dived right on top of them. The result was two dead SAM sites and a bifurcated radar vehicle. With the JSOW strike, all radar sites and AA batteries had been destroyed, completing Phase I of the operation.

'_All radar sites destroyed. Green lights across the board. Recon squadron is approaching now.' _Bandog reported. Trigger climbed upwards to get out of the wind that was knocking his plane around.

'I guess that's it. Huh, this operation was easy.' Trigger noted on the climb. Avril shook her head when something caught her attention. The F-15 was facing in the direction of the recon squadron. The RIO seat had a radar display like the pilot did. In addition to the blue triangles indicating friendlies, there were also a lot of white objects. The IFF identified them as MQ-99s.

'_We might have crossed the line.' _One of the recon leaders was saying. In the distance, Trigger saw a column of seven F-15Cs approaching. They all separated from each other as their interceptors, twenty or so MQ-99s, closed the distance to get in weapons range.

'Hey boss-' Trigger began to say to the squadron leader.

'_Already ahead of you, all pilots, engage the UAVs!' _Blaze ordered.

'Copy.' Trigger looked back to Avril. 'Shit's about to get bumpy, so hold onto something.' Trigger gave the civilian mechanic a moment to grip something before punching forward to go attack the UAVs.

_**POV: Blaze **_

A few kilometres north of the others, Blaze was going hard and fast to hit the first group of four UAVs chasing after one of Strider Squadron's aircraft. At close range, Blaze used a cluster of four missiles to down all of the UAVs chasing Lanza. As he passed over Lanza's shoulder, Blaze saw the former look at his aircraft in recognition.

'_Thank you Commander. Strider 3, breaking off.' _With his interceptors down, Lanza diverted away from the combat area and towards safety. Blaze's next target were a pair of UAVs that had diverted to chase Count. He approached Count and the UAVs from the front.

'Break left.' Blaze said to the Su-33 pilot. The latter did so, getting out of the way of Blaze's fangs. Using the cannon, Blaze then took out both UAVs.

'_That was close.' _Count said, also retreating away from the area.

'Hey, we're not done yet Count.' Blaze said when he noticed Count retreating from the area.

'_Our mission was to destroy SAM sites, and we've done that.'_ Count retorted, trying to get out of the engagement. Blaze relented and let him go.

On the other side of the battlefield, Huntsman, Taipan and Keystone fired at every hostile target they could find from long range with AMRAAM missiles. The tactic was quite effective, knocking out ten UAVs, including two that Trigger was about to get into dogfighting distance with. The last four were on the tail of Cyclops 1. The quadrio of UAVs chased down and fired the missiles they had at the F-15C pilot. None connected, the man was a good evader. Grimm found out that the UAVs weren't as he got behind them and shot down three in a row using Sidewinders. Mythic appeared by his side and got the last one with her cannon.

'_Spare Squadron, mission is complete, return to base_.' Bandog reported once he saw that all the UAVs had been destroyed. Blaze reduced the thrust being produced by his engines and turned to get back to the others.

'Good job, Spare-' Blaze started.

'_Wait a minute. Hold it.' _Bandog cut Blaze off. '_Titan 2, Titan 3, bogey approaching fast from the rear!'_

Huntsman looked over his shoulder. There was a Flanker in the distance approaching at high speed coming for the two Wolf Squadron pilots. Black body, red trimming.

'Fuck.' Huntsman cursed. 'It's Mister X. Taipan, break off!' Huntsman ordered his wingman before pulling a tight turn to face the Su-30SM. _Alright you prick, let's see if you've gotten any more aggressive. _Huntsman thought to himself as the two approached each other. As expected for a Flanker pilot, Mihaly pulled a Herbst maneuver to slow down and get behind the Strike Eagle pilot. Huntsman was ready for this, rapidly slowing down and pulling up to imitate as best a cobra he could with the F-15E and fired a Sidewinder upwards as Mihaly passed over his head.

The missile missed.

'Oh fuck.' Huntsman suddenly found himself in a very bad situation, with no kinetic energy, the Flanker right behind him and support still a few seconds away. The result, as expected, was not good.

The back of the Eagle disintegrated as Mihaly put two missiles and several dozen cannon rounds up the ass of Huntsman's aircraft. Knowing that he was fucked, Huntsman gripped the ejection handle.

'Titan 2, bailing out. Up to you guys now.' He yanked the handle. The canopy exploded above him and the ejection seat was thrown up with Huntsman in it. The remnants of the Strike Eagle exploded below. Mihaly shot past below him.

'_Titan 2, lost. Strider 4, lost. Jesus, this guy is a monster.' _Bandog watched the path the Su-30SM pilot took to wreak havoc on everyone else.

'Titan, Spare, get the two reinforcement aircraft. The leader is mine.' Blaze ordered the remaining five pilots to engage the new Su-30s.

_**POV: Trigger **_

Trigger had seen the Su-30 shoot down Captain Webber and one of the recon squadron aircraft. Now the Su-30SM was going after the other recon members. He was the closest to intercept.

'Not on my fucking watch.'

Trigger boosted forward, the sudden increase in speed knocking Avril back into her seat. He got on Mihaly's tail and used his cannon to catch his attention. A few rounds caught the tailfins of the Su-30. The pilot quickly realised he was being chased and made an insanely tight turn to evade. Trigger matched the turn, pulling 9s's.

'Trigger-' Avril managed to grunt before she passed out, knocked out by the g-force. Trigger looked back for a split second to check on her before looking forward and firing Sidewinders at Mihaly's exposed engines. He hit his shot as Mihaly didn't have enough energy to properly evade, but the missile didn't do much. Mihaly had caught it in a non-vital area.

'_Sol 1.'_ The ECM flared. The enemy was talking.

'_My status is fine. Do not interfer.'_ The leader spoke.

'_Thunder clouds are moving in. We should return to base.' _

There was a moment of silence while the leader thought. '_Affirmative. A shame, this pilot is good.' _The Su-30s retreated away. Trigger didn't follow. He didn't have the energy.

'_Spare Squadron, don't follow. Bandog, scramble a CSAR bird. I can see Titan 2 on the ground.' _Blaze requested for a rescue bird.

'_I'll see what I can find. This area is fairly deep behind enemy lines.' _Bandog replied and went off-comms for a moment.

'_Grimm, lead Spare, Cyclops and Strider back to base. I'm going to guard your captain.' _Blaze ordered everyone else to return to base. Trigger didn't argue and formed up with Spare Squadron. Strider and Cyclops formed up on both sides.

Avril groaned.

'I'm gonna be sick.' She complained. Trigger grabbed a bag from a container at his feet and passed it back to her. Avril grabbed it and vomited into it.


	34. Chapter 32 - Grabacr Successor

'_Blaze, there's nothing in our area of operations capable of rescue operations. Captain Webber's on his own.' _Bandog reported. Still flying around the region, Blaze shook his head angrily.

'Huntsman, this is Blaze, you still there?' Blaze radioed the captain. The latter had landed safely with most of his equipment, chief among that equipment a radio.

'_Yep.' _Webber replied.

'How bumpy is the ground down there?'

'_Uhhh, pretty flat from what I can see. Planning something?' _

'Yep. Cover your ears.' Blaze warned the captain before banking around a few times to come in line with the valley that Huntsman was currently sitting in. He lowered his speed, dropped flaps and lowered landing gear. Blaze would try to land in the valley, pick up Huntsman and fly back to base. Blaze saw a rough trail which he lined up on. He raised his nose up a little just before hitting the ground. The tires dug into the dirt, slowing down the Su-33M3 faster than normal, but not enough to bog the aircraft down. Blaze came to a stop just as he made it over to a surprised Huntsman. He opened the canopy, unstrapped from the ejection seat and stood up as best as he could inside the cockpit.

'Come on!' Blaze shouted. Huntsman ran over to the front of the Su-33, jumping to reach the lip of the cockpit. Blaze leaned over and grabbed his hand, pulling the captain up.

'This is a one-seater?' Huntsman said as he saw the cockpit of the aircraft. Blaze sat down in the ejection seat.

'Not going to be comfortable, but it's better than this shithole.'

Webber nodded and sat down on top of Alex. Sure enough, it was cramped, but big enough for the two to fit. Blaze brought the canopy down, brought the engines back to full thrust and within ten seconds was in the air again.

'Bandog, Blaze, I've got the captain, returning to base.'

* * *

**Oured, Osea **

**Osean Intelligence Agency Headquarters **

'Joshua Nicholas. An honourable serving pilot in the Navy. And there's this guy. Very much not the lieutenant.' David North read a document in his whitewall office. He smirked, put the first file away and switched to a second file. 'And then we have Benjamin Bernitz, an Belkan spy and assassin. Captain Williams was very lucky to survive this guy's attack.'

Across the table from David, Commander Tyler Keith crossed his arms. 'But he managed to cripple a carrier and kill 400 men and women. Were they unlucky?'

'In the wrong place at the wrong time.' David placed the file on his desk and stood up. 'Ben is the son of Ashley Bernitz, an ace pilot that Williams killed over Oured Bay nine years ago. He hasn't said it himself, but we believe that he was trying to avenge his father by killing the leader of the Razgriz.'

Tyler stood up as well. 'Is he here?' He asked.

'He is. What, you want to talk to him?' David replied, cocking his head slightly to one side.

'Possibly.' Tyler replied, arms crossed. He tapped his fingers on one arm impatiently. David picked up a keycard from a drawer in his desk, walked past Tyler and opened the door.

'Follow me, Commander.' David said, motioning for the squadron leader to follow the OIA agent. They walked through various hallways, down stairwells. As they walked down to the level where the holding cells were located, Tyler noticed that the building had no windows. The two eventually made it down to the cell level. A directions sign said that this level was the interrogation level.

'You agent types never were subtle.' Tyler commented.

'Cold world.' David replied flatly. They arrived at the particular cell where Bernitz was held in. David slid the card and punched in a four-digit number. 'Code is 0051. Lock the gate behind you when you come out.'

David opened the door. Tyler stepped in.

'Thank you, Mr North.' He said before shutting the door. The room was dimly lit. A bar door blocked Tyler from getting to the assassin sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. There was a keypad on it. Tyler entered the code and the door opened. He went through it and suddenly Tyler was face-to-face with the man that had damaged the ship he was assigned to.

'Good morning, Commander. Been a while, hasn't it?' Bernitz greeted the pilot before the latter could do anything. Tyler took a few steps towards the assassin.

'It has, Bernitz, it has.' To the surprise of Benitz, Tyler wasn't angry. At least not that he could tell.

'So, what god-forsaken purpose have you come to find me for?' Bernitz went straight to the point.

'Your father was a pilot was he not?' Tyler asked Bernitz uncaringly. The latter looked at Tyler.

'Yes.' He answered.

'A first lieutenant in the Belkan Air Force. Grabacr Squadron. The 8492nd. Instigator of the Circum-Pacific War.' Tyler continued, starting to pace around the room.

'Yes.' Bernitz answered.

'And then he was killed over Oured Bay, along with Grabacr and Ofnir, December 31st, 2010.'

'Yes.' Venom started to come through Bernitz's voice. Tyler smiled. He was onto something.

'By the Razgriz.'

'Yes.' Bernitz snarled.

'By Captain Alex Williams.'

Benitz shrugged his arms forward, attempting to get free. The chains attached to his arms and legs stopped him. Tyler stopped pacing when he walked in front of Bernitz.

'You tried to kill Alex on the _Vulture. _You tried to kill Hans at Fort Greys Island. Kei is in space where you can't touch her. Tell me, what was your plan for Marcus?'

Benitz looked Tyler in the eyes with a devilish smile. 'Take these chains off and I'll tell you.'

Tyler exhaled and looked at the one-way mirror in front of him and behind Bernitz.

'I apologise in advance. Do it.'

The chains unlocked and instantly Bernitz charged Tyler with a roar. The latter sidestepped the assassin and kicked his legs out as he passed. Bernitz fell to the floor with a thud. Tyler quickly got on Bernitz's back, grabbed his head and started smashing it into the floor. There was a crunch on the second blow, followed by a squelching noise on the fourth as Tyler repeatedly smashed his head against the stone floor. He stopped at the tenth blow and got off him. He was breathing a little quicker than usual. Bernitz rolled over and coughed up blood. His nose, broken into pieces, was pouring blood. There was a flat spot on his forehead and his jaw and cheekbones were misaligned.

'Well?' Tyler asked impatiently, hands splayed out by his sides.

Bernitz coughed. 'I was going to contract a mercenary ace to attack and sink the carrier, with the Swordsman on it. But I was captured before I could contact him.'

'Who?'

'Grimnar. The one they call the Black Raven.'

Satisfied, the leader of Razor Squadron left the room, leaving Bernitz to collapse on the floor.


	35. Chapter 33 - The Black Raven (Part II)

**A/N: Right, I'm back. I apologise for leaving this for so long! With the COVID nonsense I've been busy for a while. Hopefully I should be able to restore a proper schedule now. **

Sitting in the driver's seat of his green Hummer, Tyler dialed a number through his phone. The line buzzed for a few moments before the man at the other end picked up.

'_Hello?' _The man on the other end was Alex Williams. On his end there was the sound of jet engines roaring.

'Blaze, it's Lance. Keep your eyes out. There's a pilot assassin after you. A good one.' Tyler warned him.

'_This couldn't have come through on a secure channel? Besides, I'm a little busy at the moment.' _Alex said after inhaling audibly.

'I've got no other way of contacting you, and this is urgent. Watch. Your. Back.' Tyler said with a stern voice before cutting the call.

In the cockpit of the Su-33 with Michael sitting on top of him, Alex shook his head and put away his phone. 'Control, requesting permission to land.'

'_Granted.' _The ATC answered his request. Alex flipped up his visor and wiped his forehead.

* * *

_**Meanwhile**_

_**Tyler Island **_

While things had been slowly and loudly progressing for the Oseans and the Eruseans, a lone pilot in a white, grey and black splinter camo Su-57 shot forward over the ocean and towards an island. Grimnar checked his watch. _6PM. _

'High Watcher, Raven, send mission traffic.' Grimnar contacted his AWACS, switching from master-safe to 500 pound iron bombs while saying so.

'_Roger. Objectives from handler as follows: Destroy or disable the SSTO shuttle preparing for resupply of the Arsenal Birds. Sink the two AEGIS destroyers docked at the island. Destroy the THAAD systems.' _AWACS High Watcher answered. He was Grimnar's mission controller in addition.

'Hmm. This should be exciting.' Grimnar said to himself. According to the intelligence given by his handler, the Eruseans had heavily fortified the island and its various establishments. In two minutes that wasn't going to matter. Grimnar lined himself up with the shuttle, preparing for a quick bombing run. As he crossed the line from ocean to land, Grimnar released two bombs. 1000lbs worth of explosives. They were Mark 82 Snakeyes, equipped with a high drag tail kit for low-level bombing. Grimnar was faster than the bombs and shot over the target a few seconds before the bombs connected with the shuttle. Its hull buckled inwards, hit by the bombs, and then spectacularly exploded in a bright flash of blue as its cargo detonated. Grimnar saw the explosion via the mirrors fitted to the top and sides of his cockpit. He shook his head and turned south-east to hit the THAAD batteries located at the southern airbase. Crossing the line from ocean to land once again, Grimnar's electronic suite picked up enemy radio transmissions.

'_Air raid alert!'_

'_Where the hell did they come from?!'_

'_Radar didn't pick up the enemy attack force, I don't know where they are!' _

'_Jesus Christ, the shuttle is gone!' _

Knowing that he was currently undetected, Grimnar punched the throttle all the way forward and switched from bombs to Hellfire ATGMs.

'_Satellite imaging indicates four THAAD systems on the airfield.' _High Watcher reported. Saying nothing, Grimnar pulled up to climb and dived directly on top of the airfield. His radar locked the four launcher vehicles. As soon as this happened, Grimnar hit the firing switch and four AGM-114L missiles popped off their rails in the belly of the fighter to go after their targets. Breaking the sound barrier, into the launcher vehicles of the ABM sites and detonating. These missiles weren't armed with standard HEAT warheads; instead they had small thermobaric charges more suited for destruction of light-armoured targets. Being very much lightly armoured targets, the THAAD batteries were shattered by the thermobaric charges.

'SSTO and anti-ballistic missiles destroyed.' Grimnar reported.

'_Roger. Hmm. Our intel might have been off. The destroyers aren't here.' _High Watcher said. Grimnar did a loop around the island. High Watcher was correct. The only ships in the dock near the gigantic mass driver were some small patrol boats and cargo vessels.

'They left before we got here. Either way, that's two primary objectives complete.'

'_Indeed. Return to base, I'll inform the handler that the destroyers are missing.' _

Without additional words, Grimnar pulled away from the island and back towards his base.


	36. Chapter 34 - Stonehenge

Captain Nagase, Warrant Officer Hubert and Sergeant Stone sat around a table in the officer's room of the _Pilgrim I. _Kei's arm had noticeably healed. She was no longer wearing a sling for her arm and the cut that had severed her bicep was now just a thin scar.

'Did some rounds around the crew. They're coping well as far as I can tell.' Hubert was saying. Kei was paying attention. Since the incident and the death of over 50 people, _Pilgrim _had gone from being busy to minimum levels of activity. This of course came with the concern of keeping the remaining 30 people occupied.

'Considering the situation, that's good. Jacob, what's the news in your department?' Kei directed her next questions towards the Emmerian Air Force sergeant and damage control chief. Jacob opened a dossier he brought with him and handed it to the captain.

'Full details in there. We've rewired electronics to direct more power to the operations centre. Also, we hit a problem.' Jacob answered, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands.

'What's the problem?' Kei asked while flicking through the dossier.

'The port-side flaps and engines are dead. Gears are melted through, cables have been severed, and even if we fixed all of that we're out of the hydraulic fluids and fuel required to run them.' Jacob summarised.

'Charming.' Kei closed the dossier after taking in all the information she needed, handing it back to Jacob. 'Basset Space Centre was damn near flattened at the start of the war, the Eruseans aren't looking to help us. Yuktobanians are out of contact, we're not in an orbit to receive from the Emmerians, and the Estovakians-'

'-don't even have a functioning space agency because of the Emmerian-Estovakian War.' Jacob finished her statement. The sergeant rubbed his eyes and cracked his shoulders.

'Yeah. Is there anything you two want to bring up with me?' Kei asked the final question. The two senior-ranking men shook their heads. Kei simply nodded and dismissed the meeting.

* * *

**July 14th, 2019**

**OFS **_**Phobos**_

_**Blue Ridge**_**-class command ship**

'Swordsman, Talon, check in.' On board the giant command ship, Zoe _Talon _Davis contacted the airborne mission commander for this operation. Instead of the aviator standard one-piece flight uniform, she was wearing the OMDF's standard working uniform; a desert digital pattern. Her arm was still slung and in a cast.

'_This is Swordsman, about to cross Checkpoint 5, continuing to Sledgehammer.' _Snow reported in. A very long way away, the F-14D pilot was deep in Erusean territory on a recon mission.

'Roger that. What's the activity level like up there?' Talon asked.

* * *

**Hatties Desert**

'No drones or interceptors. Skies are clear.' Looking out of his canopy, Snow saw the sand below. Behind his plane, Captain Walter _Luna _Atkins escorted Snow. They were looking for an old cluster of structures, something that had been constructed well back in 1998.

'_These guns have been out of service for 20 years. Going to take a miracle to get them going again.' _Atkin commented, flying on Snow's right in his F/A-18E.

'The Army's dedicating an entire battalion of engineers to get the place back online. They'll find a way.' Snow replied, himself understanding the technical challenges behind the operation. The Stonehenge railguns were old and rusting away. One of them had been disabled by the Ulysses asteroid impacts in 1999. The remaining seven were destroyed by ISAF in 2005 during the Continental War.

'_I think I can see the guns… Holy shit, they're big.' _Luna said as the massive guns came into view over the horizon. Even from a long distance they appeared to be tall and intimidating. However, all eight guns were in the low position. None of them were powered. Snow stared at them for a moment before snapping out of the trance.

'Talon, Swordsman, arriving in the area of operations. Are you seeing this?' Snow reported to the command fleet.

'_Affirm. The engineers are going to have fun fixing this thing. Stay on location. Trident and Poseidon Squadrons are launching with the tankers, expect arrival in roughly three hours. I'll be in touch.' _Talon ordered the group. She was the operation's overall commander, a newly-promoted O5 Commander. Snow was the leader of the Navy's squadrons being dedicated to Stonehenge's security. Under Operation Dragon Awakening, the plan was to reactivate Gun 4. A future operation would see the Oseans baiting an Arsenal Bird to the region so they could destroy it.

* * *

**444 Squadron Airbase, Zapland**

In the primary hangar bay, Alex pried open service panels on his Su-33 to get into the avionics bays of the aircraft. Across from him in the service bay, Trigger and Avril were working on refitting some of the Spare Squadron aircraft. Since the incident where Trigger had brought Avril to a combat zone in his F-15E, the two had been working closely together. Alex noted this a few times, suspected a possible romance and then dismissed the thought without saying anything. He was guilty of the same thing, back in 2010.

In the prisoner's mess, Grimm, Sara, Michael and Taipan were playing a game of poker with the rest of the squadron, led by High Roller.


	37. Chapter 35 - A Suicide Mission

**July 15**

**444 Squadron Airbase**

Trigger laid on his stomach on the top of an F-16, welding a patch onto its damaged hull. He was making another plane for the fake airbase when the door opened and in came McKinsey surrounded by guards. Trigger rolled his eyes silently and tried to bury himself in his work.

'Trigger.' The colonel called out his name, sternly. Trigger turned the blowtorch off, flipped up his visor and turned to face the jailer.

'Yes, sir?' He answered the call.

'You have a mission. Follow me.' McKinsey ordered. Trigger nodded, dropped the blowtorch and deftly jumped to the floor, walking over to a closet. He opened it and extracted his gear, changing into it. McKinsey waited impatiently. Trigger took a minute to change and then exited the service bay surrounded by the guards. He noticed that Count, Champ and Keystone were within the group. However, none of the five advisors were. Not even Blaze, the man who had personally led all of the missions thus far.

* * *

Across from the hangars, Huxian, Lanza, Grimm and Alex were sitting around an outside table. They had a few random belongings on the table; glasses, hats, the like. Alex was leaning back on his chair, looking at the horizon.

'Ran air support for the counter-insurgency ops in Fascia. Straight out of Sand Island with the 242nd.' Grimm was talking about one of his peace-time operations with the two younger pilots.

'You were one of the bomb trucks. I was in the country, 82nd from Bagram.' Lanza. Huxian's gaze was trained on the hangar. With open doors. The sounds of jet engines starting up could be heard. An F-15E appeared in the open area and started running out of the hangar. _Hey, an F-15. _She thought. Huxian quickly realised something.

'Commander?' She tapped Alex on the shoulder, the latter snapping out of his daydreaming, and pointed at the taxiing F-15E that was quickly being joined by a MiG-29, an F-16 Block 52 and an Su-33. Alex blinked to make sure he was seeing things right.

'Damn it. Grimm, watch these two will ya?' Alex ordered his fourth wingman before taking his glasses and sprinting off towards the hangars. Despite the weathering and fatigue caused by the war, Alex was still in good shape and managed to cross the runway by the time Colonel McKinsey and his gagglefuck of guards were exiting the hangar as the four jets left the runway and shot into the sky. The jailer saw the ace as he got close. Alex swore he heard the man curse.

'Ah, command-'

Alex didn't let McKinsey finish the sentence, punching him square in the nose. There was the crunching of bone on impact. McKinsey recoiled from the punch.

'Firstly, _sir, _you didn't inform me of an air operation which I am required to be on.' Alex shook the blood running off his fist and stared down the barrel of an M4 leveled at his head for a moment before looking back down at the bleeding colonel. 'Secondly, you didn't tell me about the nature of this operation, which as a member of the command team I should be privy to.'

'Williams-'

Alex snarled and kicked McKinsey in the abdomen with his steel-capped boot. 'THIRDLY, COLONEL, I am responsible for the safety of all 55 men of this squadron, one strikes like Keystone and Count, to the fucking Three Strikes himself.' McKinsey didn't reply, winded. Alex saw no point in saying anything else and dashed past the group, after his plane. He didn't bother grabbing a g-suit, running straight up the ladder and starting the take-off procedure. His helmet was in the bottom of the cockpit. Alex put it on while the electrical system of the Su-33 started.

* * *

'_This is a fucking suicide mission.' _Keystone complained while staying in formation with the other three pilots alongside him.

'Orders are orders.' Trigger answered. He was aware of the very real possibility of death. He justified it as the reality of his job.

'_Wideband transmission, urgent, all Spare Squadron aircraft!'_ Alex started shouting on the radio. Trigger looked at his dashboard.

'This is Spare 15, send traffic sir.'

'_I am overriding orders from the jailer, return to base. I say again, do not continue the mission.' _Alex gave a direct order to the four. Trigger raised his eyebrows and looked out the canopy. Keystone was looking at his wingmates in confusion.

'_Count?' _Keystone asked.

'_Dunno about you, but I'm inclined to return.'_ Count answered, shaking his wings. A black Su-33 shot past the group. Blaze.

'_It's a suicide mission. Turn back.' _The Razgriz pilot ordered. Trigger pushed forward to keep up with the squadron leader. Blaze noted this. '_Trigger.' _

'All due respect sir, for a suicide mission you seem content to go forward with it. You need the backup.' Trigger defended his actions, still following shortly behind his squadron commander. Blaze sighed audibly before speaking again.

'_What about the rest of you?' _Blaze asked, referring to Count, Keystone and Champ.

'_They both have a death wish. I say let's tag along.' _Champ decided for himself, boosting forward to catch up.

'_Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Coming.' _Keystone was in the same group, speeding up to get into formation.

'_Well shit. Nothing better to do.' _Count made up his mind and joined on the formation. What Blaze had originally intended to be a one-man ship of himself to get the job down was now a five-man flight of the squadron's best pilots. He shook his head but smiled under the mask.

'Copy. Fall in, we've got a long trip.' Blaze said, settling in his seat.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Spare 2/Count - Su-33 Flanker-D_

_Spare 8/Champ - MiG-29A Fulcrum_

_Spare 9/Keystone - F-16CJ Block 52 Viper_

_Spare 15/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

They flew forward. Going ever further away from their base. The ground below changed constantly, from desert, to forest, to grasslands, to tundra, to mountains and eventually the snow-covered tops and icy waters of the Snider's Top area. Blaze shuddered. He remembered the last time he had been anywhere near here, destroying the Erusean _Scinfaxi-_class sub. There was a beeping in his headset that snapped him away from the thought. His radar warning receiver was picking up the air search radars of SAM batteries in the local area.

'Hit the deck. Their radar net is active.' Blaze ordered, dropping from the one-kilometre altitude they were operating at to just over 10 metres above the glassy surface of the water. Their combined engine thrust threw up water behind them.

'_Their main net is centred around a facility somewhere inland. No major seaborne assets are active.' _Keystone reported. His aircraft was designed for SEAD and DEAD operations, so him being part of the formation was perfect for this mission.

'Head to the base. Use the valleys as cover.' Blaze ordered, waiting for the next fjord to start moving inland towards the centre of the air defence net. The entire squad followed him. The valley was long and narrow with a small river at the bottom running out into the ocean. Flat surfaces were covered in snow but the sheer walls were a brownish black. The noise of jet engines echoed through the valley.

'_Uh-oh. Commander, radar sites are starting to light up across the area.' _Keystone reported.

'Spare, push it.' Blaze pushed the throttle stick forward, going into afterburner and speeding up. He pulled out of the valley, heading directly for the SAM batteries. A few seconds later his RWR started blaring. The SAMs had switched from search to fire-control.

'Keystone, your show.' Blaze called out to the pilot in the Wild Weasel aircraft. Keystone acknowledged by gaining altitude, slowing down and firing a total of six missiles in quick succession. AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. They shot after the radar-emitting sources. Keystone went back down to low altitude after firing them. HARM missiles were fast, and while not highly destructive they were very good at doing their job - air defence suppression.

'_HARMs away. Should be ready for DEAD ops around…' _Keystone paused for a few seconds, waiting for a detonation report from the missiles. '_...now.' _

'Drop, drop, drop.' Blaze ordered the other four in the formation, referring to the AGM-84H SLAM cruise missiles carried by everyone. Blaze was only carrying a light anti-air loadout suitable for an interceptor. Spare Squadron dropped their missiles. They fell for a second or two before the jet engines in the missiles lit and propelled the missiles forward.

'_Radars have gone offline. HARMs did their job.' _Keystone reported.

'_That's the least of our problems. Interceptors, bearing 065, coming straight for us!' _Trigger pointed out. Blaze looked at his sensors panel. Indeed, there were fighters coming after them with radars active. Su-33s, carrier-based aircraft. Blaze banked out to approach the interceptors.

'Head on. I'll deal with the fighters.' He said to the squadron, heading onwards. There were two pairs of Su-33 aircraft. Likely launched from an Erusean aircraft carrier waiting somewhere out at sea. Blaze closed the distance. He didn't want to use his long-range AMRAAMs unless absolutely necessary. As a result, the enemy fired at him before he could fire at the enemy. Blaze climbed above the missiles and turned to the side to waste their energy. They fell out of the skies harmlessly, fuel spent and engines offline. Coming to within IR missile range, Blaze loosed off AIM-9X Sidewinders at the leading Su-33s. He then turned away and pushed his engines to max speed to stay out of the firing range of the enemy interceptors. He looked over his shoulder. There were flashes in the distance. His missiles had hit and destroyed the target. Blaze turned back for the next pair of aircraft.

'What's the status of those SAM sites?' Blaze asked the other members of his flight, who were hopefully dealing with the SA-10 and SA-21 SAM sites.

'_Dealing with straggler Patriot batteries and then we're out of here, Commander.' _Keystone answered.

_Alright, if we're done here. _Blaze thought, selecting his AMRAAMs and firing from a far distance at the second pair of approaching fighters. They may have been the only two he had, but once Spare Squadron did their job he was going to book it back south. The missiles streaked through the sky. There was one flash in the distance, a kill. Only one. The fourth fighter had dodged the missile. Blaze didn't chase down the fighter, instead pulling south and moving fast and low to the ground. As he passed the valley that the squadron had entered from, Keystone and Count appeared from it and formed up on the squadron leader. Trigger and Champ were a short moment behind them.

'_That was easier than I expected. We still got enemy fighters?' _The man with the three strikes commented.

'Head home, they can't catch us.' Blaze ordered. Without objection, the five-man flight exited the AO, on a heading that would take them back to Zapland and the 444th airbase.


	38. Chapter 36 - Change of Command

A couple of hours later, the same formation that had decimated the long-range air defence system of the Erusean-controlled naval base at Snider's Top had returned to their airbase. It was dark by the time that Blaze, Count, Trigger, Keystone and Champ taxied into the main hangar and shut down. Aside from the routine aircraft maintenance crews, there was nobody waiting for them.

Stepping out of the cockpit and onto the ground, Alex wasn't certain if that was a good or a bad thing. He leant against the ladder leading up to the cockpit and rubbed his face with both hands.

'Spare Squadron, you're dismissed for today. Feel free to do whatever.' Alex said to the assembled four people before walking across the runway to the main complex. There were a few groups of convicts in the outside lunch area. One of them was being used as a gambling table, which Wiseman and Huxian were both taking part in. The table across to the left of them hosted Grimm, Webber and Mythic, three of the four 242nd Wing pilots. Alex approached them.

'Where the hell have you been?' Grimm asked as Alex approached them.

'Places that I probably shouldn't have been.' Alex answered, taking a seat on the table when he got close enough. Mythic looked skeptical of Alex's answer to the question.

'What happened to the colonel?' Webber asked next. Alex winced slightly at the question.

'Son of a bitch sent out Count, Keystone, Champ and Trigger on a suicide mission without telling me or any of you guys.' Alex said after a moment. He exhaled heavily out of his nose after finishing the sentence. He wasn't happy about having to do it but the fucker of a base commander deserved it. _Even if they are prisoners, _Alex had to remind himself. That line had been blurring as of late. Half of the prisoners weren't even bad people, and the ones that were had been cleaning up their acts.

'Oh.' Webber said. Grimm gave him a side glance.

'Speaking of oh, you should check in with Bandog. A few things changed while you were gone.' Grimm added, grinning slightly. Alex saw the grin and immediately suspected something.

'Oh christ.' Alex shook his head and left the table. He was heading for the adjutant office where Bandog usually was whenever he wasn't running AWACS operations. He climbed a few stairwells before going down a hallway and arriving at his office. Alex knocked. Alex waited. There was no reply after five seconds. Alex knocked again. Again, no reply. The door to Colonel McKinsey's office opened and an NCO appeared in the doorway.

'If you're looking for the major, sir, he's in here.' The sergeant opened the door fully for Alex.

'Oh. Thank you sergeant.' Alex thanked the man and entered the room. There were a few enlisted and non-commissioned officers reorganising things. At the back of the room near a big desk was Bandog. He was in the process of cleaning and placing things on the desk. He saw Alex in his peripheral vision and looked up.

'I was just thinking I needed to see you.' Bandog said, taking a seat in the big leather office chair that accompanied the desk. Alex stood in front of him and looked around the office.

'So… Am I being grounded?' Alex asked the big question. Assaulting and injuring an O-6 officer was not something most got away with.

'No. Quite the opposite in fact. Colonel McKinsey has been dismissed from service.' Bandog said. For the first time in a long while, Alex was surprised.

'Ah. Well shit. Command make you the base commander yet?' Alex asked the second big question. While officially speaking an O-5 officer and therefore outranking Bandog who was only an O-4, Bandog was also an Air Force officer and the more likely of the two to be assigned as base commander.

'They did. Still a major though.' Bandog said, chucking. Alex chuckled as well. _Sounds about right. _'That leaves this base with a vacant adjudant spot. You're the next in line. What do you say?'

'No.' Alex answered almost instantly. Bandog sputtered for a second in confusion. 'I'm a pilot, not an office worker. Besides, someone like Captain Webber would be better for the job. He understands the operation of a squadron better than I do, and he's been in the Air Force for much longer.'

'Hmm. I'll look into him. I hear that he was an ace pilot during the Circum-Pacific War.'

'That he was. Oh, and uh, should I be expecting any organisational changes because of a change of command?'

'No. The system we have works, and I like it.' Bandog stood up. 'I need to finish up here, so is there anything you need to know?'

'That's all. Thank you sir.' Alex nodded, turned around and left the room.

* * *

While Alex was talking to the new base Commander, Trigger arrived in the service bay where he usually was whenever off-mission, went to his personal locker to change out of his flight uniform and into his working uniform. Trigger shut the door on the locker and stood there for a few seconds. He slammed his head against the locker and inhaled sharply.

'Trigger?' Avril called out from the other side of the bay. Trigger brought his head up and turned around.

'Yeah?' He asked, hands splayed.

'Why are you headbutting a locker?' She asked, walking up to the pilot slowly. Trigger held his ground.

'Venting. The mission we got assigned, jesus christ.' Trigger held his hands behind his back, not moving. Avril shook her head and got to within arms reach of the man. She grabbed at the zipper of Trigger's uniform.

'Vent to someone who'll listen.' She pulled Trigger forward and down, forcing his head into the middle of her chest. Trigger let out a muffled grunt when he impacted. He tried backing out, and failed. Avril's grip was strong. She placed her free arm around Trigger's neck and hugged him, standing on the tip of her toes. At 5-foot-11, Trigger was much taller than the 5-foot-3 Scrap Queen.

'You know,' Trigger said, muffled by Avril's breasts and chest cavity. 'This is a lot more comfortable than most people give it credit for.'


	39. Chapter 37 - Pipeline Destruction

**1700 Hours local time, July 21, 2019**

**444th Squadron Air Force Base, Zapland, Usea **

'Much as I would prefer being in the cockpit with you guys, you need an AWACS out there.' In the adjutant office, Captain Michael _Huntsman _Webber was printing off photos. Sitting at Michael's desk, Alex sat upright in one of the chairs located around it. Sitting at the same table, Grimm scoffed.

'And I thought you enjoyed being in the back. Anyway, where are we going?' Grimm both insulted the captain and asked a question.

'Artigilo Port. It's a fuel refinery station used by the Erusean Air Force for their UCAV bastions.' Webber answered, returning to the table with the photos and a cup of coffee and sitting down. He passed the photos to the two senior officers. Alex grabbed them and glanced at them.

'Jeez. That sandstorm isn't going to do us any favours.' Alex mentioned the storm that had been kicking around for a day or two. Inessa 2 or something along those lines.

'Meteorology know where this thing is forecasted to go?' Grimm scanned the image more closely. It was a big storm.

'Chances are it'll be at Artigilo by tomorrow afternoon.' Webber answered the question.

'Grimm, look at the port.' Alex slid one of the photos to Grimm, his finger on a concentration of ships in the port. 'Cargo ships, oil tankers and an entire flotilla of frigates. They've running an operation.'

'Yeah. Naval assets are hard to come by that far south. This must be something big.' Grimm agreed.

'Aye. Ought to pay them a visit?' Webber stared at the two in his office.

'Let's do it. I'll round up the guys.' Alex stood up and left the office.

* * *

_July 21, 2019, 1900 Hours_

_Operation Three Of A Kind_

_Artigilo Port, Usea_

'_We all awake? Yes? Good. In case you haven't already heard, Colonel McKinsey was dismissed as base commander, so I'll be running briefings from here.'_

'_But that's besides the point. Up to this point, the biggest threat facing Osean forces in the field has been Erusea's drone network. We're going to change that tonight.' _

'_The Eruseans have a number of refineries around the continent processing fuel for their drone bastions. The largest of these is at Artigilo Port. Under the cover of night, we're going to slip in and level the facility, the tankers and anyone who tries to intervene.' _

'_Because of the scale of this operation, we'll be running several different squads. I'll lead Razgriz Squadron to take on any fighters in the region. Count, Keystone and Trigger, you guys take Anvil, Badger and Cobra to clean up ground targets after the bombers are done. Hammer takes the bombers and carpet bombs the facility. Understood? Good.' _

* * *

Alex looked at the pilots he had assembled for the mission. 40 fighter aircraft, and even a few bombers that the Scrap Queen and Trigger had pieced together. That was almost the entire squadron save a couple that Alex was leaving at the base for defence. They got to the flight line where the aircraft were being prepared. Some of the pilots were there by the time Alex made it; even some unofficial pilots like Avril, who now had her own flight uniform.

'Avril, you set?' Alex called out as he made a beeline for his Su-33.

'Ready as I'll ever be.' The mechanic answered, climbing up the ladder of the B-1B bomber she would be flying. Alex shook his head and climbed into his Su-33. _Start electrical, start engines, close canopy, check flaps, weapons and sensors, _Alex reminded himself of his startup procedure. Across the airfield, the air was filled with the sounds of engine ignitions.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Archer - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 3/Taipan - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Razgriz 4/Mythic - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Anvil 1/Count - Su-33 Flanker-D_

_Anvil 2/Tabloid - Mirage 2000-5_

_Anvil 3/High Roller - F-16C Fighting Falcon_

_Anvil 4/Champ - MiG-29A Fulcrum_

_Anvil 5-12 - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Badger 1/Keystone - F-16CJ Block 52 Viper_

_Badger 2/Full Band - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Badger 3-12 - Su-35S Flanker-E_

_Cobra 1/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Cobra 2-12 - F-4E Phantom II_

_Hammer 1/Scrap Queen - B-1B Lancer_

_Hammer 2-3 - B-1B Lancer_

It took 10 minutes to get everyone airborne. Blaze and his squad were the first out and didn't wait, moving towards Artigilo at just under supersonic speeds. By the time everyone was in the air, the sun had set.

* * *

**Hatties Desert**

**Spaceguard Turret Network**

Marcus Snow cleaned his face with a handful of water. It didn't help to remove the sweat that was coming out of his pores by the bucketload.

'Christ.' He said to himself. Snow had just woken up from a troubled period of sleep. A nightmare had haunted him. Someone knocked on the door to the dorm that he was using.

'Commander Snow?' A man called out. One of the Trident Squadron pilots. Snow walked out of the bathroom attached to the dorm and opened the door for the fellow pilot. It was a lieutenant.

'Christ.' The lieutenant started. 'You look like you've seen a ghost.'

'Bad dream.' Snow waved it off casually. 'What's up?'

'Phobos called in. The engineers are on their way.' The lieutenant answered, in the at-ease stance.

'ETA on their arrival?'

'Four hours, give or take a few.'

'Brilliant.' Snow inhaled. 'Anything else?'

'I was going to ask you about your dream, but that's a story for another day.' The lieutenant said honestly. Snow shook his head and chuckled.

'You ever had death dreams, lieutenant?' Snow asked the lieutenant. The lieutenant frowned.

'Can't say that I have, sir.'

'It was one of those. I saw my death. The Space Elevator was there. A lot of Erusean and Osean pilots fighting these fancy-looking unmanned fighters.' Snow explained. The lieutenant stood in the doorway, listening intently.

'Probably _is _a dream, then. I doubt precognition is a thing.'

'Yeah, you're probably right.' Snow admitted. He closed his eyes for a second.

* * *

**International Space Elevator (ISEV), Usea**

And in the span of a second he jumped right back into the dream. Snow was flying in the cockpit of his F-14D. It had the black and red camo that he had used back in 2010 as part of the Razgriz Squadron. Around him were a score of other pilots. Erusean Su-30s in a black and orange paint scheme. Razgriz pilots around him; Blaze, Archer and a third pilot going by the callsign Mythic. Alongside a plentitude of other Erusean and Osean squadrons. The sun was setting, and they were on a direct approach to the Space Elevator.

'_Razgriz, engaging.' _Blaze said over the radio.

'_Strider, engaging.' _An unknown voice to Snow.

'_Sol, engaging.' _Another unknown voice.

'_Spare, engaging.' _More unknowns.

'_Ghost, engaging.' _Yet again more unknowns.

'_Galm, engaging.' _This voice, Snow had heard before. Cipher, Blaze's uncle.

'_Chopper, engaging.' _The last voice was also one Snow knew. The voice of an old Wardog Squadron member that he had replaced.

In the distance surrounding the Space Elevator were two aircraft, advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles. They saw the approaching attackers and flew out to engage. They were alarmingly nimble despite their size. Mounted laser beams fired from their noses, hitting two Spare aircraft at once and destroying them both instantly. Razgriz Squadron, including Snow, fired their long-range missiles at one of the drones. Most missed, but one of Snow's Phoenix missiles connected and caused moderate damage.

'_Hugin's been tagged, finish it.' _One of Strider's members pointed out. Snow, Grimm and someone going by the callsign Trigger went after Hugin while everyone else focused on the second drone. Trigger took the lead and fired a barrage of missiles from the internal bays of his F-22 Raptor. Grimm did the same from his Typhoon. Snow fired at the drone with his gun, clipping one of its engines. Damaged, the drone did a on-the-spot Kulbit maneuver and fired its missiles. Grimm and Trigger were too close for the missiles to effectively target them. Snow was a much better target. The missiles streaked towards him.

* * *

**Airspace near Artigilo Port**

In the real world, Blaze and the 444 Squadron's massive strike wave approached Artigilo. Considering the makeup of the force, he was surprised the Eruseans hadn't seen them on radar or by other methods of scanning.

'Five minutes to strike. Hammer, you better be on our tails.' Blaze said partly to the entire task force but mostly to the three B-1B Lancer bombers that would be unleashing most of the hell on the base. Each were carrying eighty-four Mark 82 five-hundred pound bombs each; 252 bombs in total or 126,000 pounds of explosive. If that didn't wipe out the area, the attack squadrons would mop up remaining targets.

'_Right behind you, Commander.' _The leader, Avril, answered. Blaze smiled. For being a civilian, she was doing well at her job.

'Good.' The squadron proceeded forward. They went feet wet and followed the coast to the target area. Blaze's IRST pod picked up targets on the ground as he crossed the horizon. Oil stacks, refinery factories, cargo ships and warships. There was a remarkable lack of aircraft in the region for the area being the key refinery for southern Erusean operations. _Shame, _Blaze thought as they got closer.

'All elements, High Light, High Light.' Blaze gave the keyword on the radio indicating the start of operations. He pushed his engines to afterburner and shot forward. Grimm, Taipan and Mythic did the same, as did the bombers trailing them. The B-1Bs were supersonic-capable aircraft.

In the cabin of her Lancer, Avril exchanged altitude for speed and dropped down to a more suitable bombing height.

'Bombs armed?' She asked her Offensive Systems Operator, a short red-haired man.

'Armed and ready.' He replied.

'Okay. Hammer Flight, form up for bombing run.' Avril ordered her two wingmen. The other two formed up a hundred metres off each side. Their bomb bays were open, ready. Doing Mach 1.3, Avril lined up the bombsight on the target and gave the order.

'Drop, drop, drop.' She and the other two hit the firing switch. Little dark-green cylinders fell out of the bomb bays, falling rapidly towards the ground-based infrastructure. Due to the speed of the attack, there was a lot of dispersion between impacts.

It didn't matter in the long run. Even at three kilometres above ground level, Trigger could see many fireballs absolutely ruin the area. In a few seconds the entire area was covered in smoke, both from the impacts and from the oil fires that lit up. Trigger snapped back to his objective; the seven frigates and two destroyers that were assigned to protecting the oil tankers. A significant force that Trigger and the F-4s following him were about to swat.

'Cobra Squadron, form up for attack run.' Trigger ordered the 11 trail Phantoms to follow him, lining up on the vessels. His Strike Eagle was equipped with a combination of Harpoon anti-ship missiles and HARM anti-radar missiles. The Phantoms for the most part had the same weapons.

'All hands, fire.' Trigger gave the drop order and in sync four Harpoons per aircraft were released, their jet engines lighting and boosting towards the warships. A total of 48 missiles, more than enough to cause significant damage to every ship there. The formation turned out to sea to avoid the air defence zone around the vessels as the Harpoons shot forward. As they got to within a few kilometres of the ships, tracers erupted from CIWS mounts. Some of the Harpoons went down in a ball of fire, knocked down by the uranium-cored 20mm shells. There wasn't enough CIWS fire to get all of them. The first vessel to get hit was an _Oliver Hazard Perry_-class frigate. Trailing away from the missiles, three Harpoons entered through the stern, shattering engine mounts and knocking out electrical systems. Explosions rocked the ship.

The ship that took the brunt of the wave was also a frigate, a smaller _Garcia_-class vessel. She was running perpendicular to the missiles and as such caught 18 out of the 42 missiles that made it to hit something. The result was the ship recoiling before exploding in a gigantic fireball, the hull shattering and shooting into the skies. In the darkness of the night, it almost looked beautiful. Overall, the missile strike got its intended job done. All of the warships in the region were now either sinking or crippled.

'Anvil, Badger, the path is clear.' Trigger reported to the cleanup squadrons led by Count and Keystone.

'_Righteo, moving in.' _Count confirmed the order.

'_Badger Squad, follow up Cobra's cleanup.' _Keystone also confirmed the order. They and their squadrons passed underneath Cobra, heading for the unarmed and now-unprotected tanker vessels.

Further inland, Blaze was monitoring radio chatter while also remaining cautious of any interceptors being scrambled to counter the attack.

'Huntsman, Razgriz 1, any response from airbases inland?' Blaze contacted their AWACS aircraft.

'_Nada. Either the Eruseans haven't picked up on the attack or bases are out of commission.' _Huntsman answered. Instead of being in the cockpit of an F-15E as a squadron leader, the captain was now in the mission centre of an E-3 Sentry AWACS.

'_Go figure. They probably didn't have time to react.' _Grimm noted. Blaze agreed. With the amount of firepower the Lancers had dropped on the base, there probably weren't many people left on the ground. Or, based on the victory cheers of Cobra Squad, in the sea.

'_Tankers have been axed. I think that's everything destroyed but I can't tell because of the smoke.' _Count. True to his word, Anvil and Badger Squadrons had devastated the remaining ships in port. Blaze turned back towards Artigilo and the now idling aircraft. Everything was either coated in smoke or on fire, or both. A job very well done.

'All squadrons, mission complete. Return to base.'


	40. Chapter 38 - The Old Guardian

**March 12th, 2012**

**Glubina, Yuktobania**

Trekking over the frozen alpine regions of the Yuktobanian mainland, retired Captain Alex Williams inhaled and exhaled constantly as he went on. Alex checked a console that he held in his hands. A GPS system. He was getting close to his destination.

Alex hiked up and down a few hills before he found it. A prisoner-of-war camp. A retired one, anyway. After the Circum-Pacific War it had been decommissioned, no need for a place to hold captured Oseans. Alex walked down the hill from where he had seen the camp and physically entered it. The harsh weather had not done the place any good. Most of the buildings were covered in snow. Some had collapsed, probably from a combination of battle damage and the weather wearing down the supports. Alex shook his head as he passed by some of the prisoner buildings.

He explored for a while. He went through the buildings that weren't caved in. In the main control room, he found uniforms and gear with skeletons in them, both Osean marines and Yuktobanian Army soldiers. They still had weapons. Alex picked up the M4 from one of them and unloaded the magazine. It still had bullets in it.

Alex dropped the M4 and left the camp, heading north. There was one more thing he wanted to see before he headed back to Cinigrad and back to Osea. It didn't take him long to find. In the side of a hill a few kilometres away from the POW camp, Alex found the broken fuselage of an Su-35. It was an Osean aircraft based on the paint scheme it had. He knew exactly who it belonged to. Alex made his way over to the cockpit. Most of it was covered in snow, but with half an hour's work and an E-tool, he unburied it. For an aircraft that had been shot down, it was surprisingly intact. On the lip of the canopy was a name.

_Cpt K. Nagase_

'_Edge'_

'Glad we got you out of here.' Alex said despite being alone.

* * *

**July 24th, 2019**

**Zapland, Usea**

Alex raised the canopy of his Su-33 and stepped out. He had just returned from an air patrol and was now swapping over to the next few people on the list.

'Anything?' From the hangar doors called Grimm. Alex shook his head.

'Clear skies all around.' He replied, walking to the crew ready room.

* * *

**Oured, Osea**

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Spring Sea, in another continent, Tyler Keith sat in a cheap river-side cafe seat while waiting for a contact to meet him there. He was in civilian clothes.

'Gotta say, I wasn't expecting to be called in by the spooks.' A man said from somewhere behind Tyler. He didn't turn around, waiting for said man to take a seat.

'You're giving me too much credit, Major.' Tyler waved off any suspicions. He was a pilot, not an OIA agent. The man appeared in the corner of Tyler's view and took a seat in front of him. He appeared to be in his late 30s.

'You aged well for a prisoner of war.' Tyler knew the man was older than that.

'Yeah, well, the Yukes had some good cooks.' Retired Major Jack Bartlett waved it off.

'No kidding.' Tyler chuckled. 'Commander Tyler Keith, Osean Maritime Defence Force.'

'Oh, so you work for ONI?' Jack guessed.

'Fuck no, I hate office work. I'm a pilot.' Tyler corrected him.

'An aviator? Huh, so what are you doing intelligence work for?' Jack asked him. Tyler pulled up a bag and extracted a piece of paper from it. He slid it over to the former Wardog Squadron leader.

'You've had run-ins with mercenaries before. Do you know this guy?' Tyler leaned back. Jack looked at the piece of paper. It was blank spare for the name that was written on it in pen.

'I don't know him personally, but I've heard of the name.' Jack slid the paper back. 'I don't know much, but I have a contact who might.'

'Can you call him?' Tyler asked.

'I can try.' Jack pulled out a mobile phone and dialed a number. The line dialed for a few seconds before the person on the other side picked up the phone.

'_All due respect sir, why are you calling me at 5 in the morning?_' The man on the other side of the line was Alex.

'I'm up early, I know. Hey, I need to call in a favour.' Jack replied. Tyler sat back and let the two speak to each other.

'_Uh. Jack, do you know where I am?' _Alex asked, near-sarcastically.

'You're an avionics engineer, right?' Jack answered. As far as he knew he was correct.

'_I'm on the Usean continent. In the middle of a war.' _Alex gave the correct answer. Jack winced visibility.

'I'm not going to ask. But, do you have Cipher's number on hand? There's a spook sitting next to me who needs information on a guy that might be hunting you down.'

'Really-' Tyler began to speak in protest. Jack held a finger up which silenced the naval aviator.

'_Touche. I'll message you the number.' _Alex said before hanging up. Jack held his phone up for a few seconds. A message came from Alex. It was a 9-digit number. A phone number. Jack copied that number and called it. The line dialed. The response was almost instant.

'_Maxwell Williams speaking, how can I help you?' _

'Hey Cipher, it's Jack. Uh, I need to ask you a question.' Jack asked the legendary mercenary.

'_Oh, hey Captain. What do you need to know?' _Cipher replied.

'A mercenary pilot. The Black Raven. What do you know about him?' Jack asked the big question. On Cipher's end there were shuffling noises.

'_Grimnar? He's a good pilot. A really good pilot. He's running around wreaking havoc on the Eruseans at the moment.' _Cipher explained. Tyler almost jumped from his seat. '_Is the OIA interested, by any chance?' _

'You know the Intelligence Service can't look into a case to save their asses. No, there's an OMDF pilot looking out for someone on the field.' Jack answered honestly. Cipher laughed for a few seconds.

'_Fair enough. Yeah, Grimnar got hired by an unknown to go about destroying anti-ballistic missile weapons. Last time I checked in he even ravaged Tyler Island and damaged the mass driver there.' _

Tyler leaned over the phone. Jack leant back to let him speak.

'What sort of experience does he have?' Tyler asked.

'_He's Emmerian, a former Chief Warrant Officer in their Air Force. He got into just about every major conflict since the Belkan War. Hell, he earned a prototype VTOL Su-57 for helping the Yukes deal with an insurrection. And like I said, he's a very good pilot. Come to think of it, why are you guys in Osea even after him anyway?'_

'A Belkan assassin was after the Razgriz Squadron guys. Benjamin Bernitz. He was going to hire the Raven to kill them off.' Tyler explained.

'_Did you say Bernitz?'_ Cipher asked. Jack looked at Tyler and the phone.

'Yep.'

'_Ah, family feud. So he was after Blaze, then?' _

'Also yes.'

'_Go figure. Either way, don't worry about him. Grimnar will stick to that mission even if it kills him.' _

'I'm relieved. Cheers.' Tyler leant back into his seat.

'_Welcome. Anything else you need?' _

'Nada.'

'_I'll be heading off then. Best of luck.' _Cipher hung up, and Jack withdrew his phone.

'He answer your questions?' He asked Tyler.

'My questions and my concerns.'


	41. Chapter 39 - Faceless Soldier

Someone knocked on the door of Alex's office. Sitting at his desk, checking flight rosters for the next week, Alex stood up and went to open the door. Outside was a single man.

'Wiseman? What are you doing here?' Alex asked the DSRU leader. He and the other members of that unit had left the airbase a few days ago.

'Need to talk with you about a personnel transfer. May I come in?' Wiseman explained. Alex raised his eyebrows and stepped out of the doorway so he could enter the room. The two went to Alex's desk.

'So,' Alex took a seat. 'Is the DSRU getting people or is the 444th getting people?'

'The LRSSG. We're in need of some pilots.' Wiseman said. Alex tilted his head.

'LRSSG?' He asked.

'Long Range Strategic Strike Group.' Wiseman answered.

'If Jaeger was here I would agree with him. But anyway, who do you have in mind?'

'Eric Kovac and Kyle Gregor.'

'Trigger and Count? Well, I can't see them denying that offer.' Alex said. He clicked his fingers a second later and stood up, heading towards the window. 'Tell me Wiseman, do you guys have supporting engineers?'

'We have a team. What are you getting at?' Wiseman turned to face the commander. Alex opened the office curtains and pointed out the window.

'Look at those planes in the hangar.' Alex was pointing at a group of five aircraft; Hornets and Eagles. Wiseman stood up and walked over to the window.

'I see them.'

'What if I told you those were piles of scrap a few days ago?'

'I would ask who repaired them.'

'Would you want the mechanic that built those aircraft?'

'He would be a great support element for the team.'

'Avril Mead. Look for her, she's usually in the service bay.'

'I'll keep it in mind-' Wiseman began to say, but he was cut off by an alarm going off in the room. Alex went over to his desk and stopped the alarm that was ringing from his phone.

'I gotta go. Mission brief downstairs.' Alex collected his effects and went for the door.

'What's the mission?' Wiseman called out.

'DEAD ops!' Alex called back.

* * *

_July 27, 2019, 1300 hours_

_Operation Flush_

_Waiapolo Mountains, Usea _

_Based on ELINT recon that other units have gathered during pushes inland, the Erusean drone network is relying on radar networks to trigger automatic drone responses. One such network is the communications base in the Waiapolo Mountains. This place has been a pain in the ass for too long. Command wants us to take this place out. The area is watched over by a long-range SAM network and spy satellites, so you're going to have to use the valleys and clouds around the region to hit the radar domes._

* * *

Half an hour later, the mission crew were assembled. Alex and Taipan were running as the group's advisors.

'Running aircraft in the region's most heavily defended ADIZ. Charming.' Taipan said to Alex as they exited the briefing room and headed towards the hangars.

'First time?' Alex asked, sarcastically. 'At least it's not Payalvenie Ravine. Waiapolo's valleys are much wider.'

'Isn't Payalvenie in Yuktobania?'

'Yep.' Alex climbed up to the cockpit of his Su-33 while Taipan went over to his F-15E. Once he was in, Alex strapped up and shut the canopy. He started the electrical system and suddenly voices came in through the radio. It was idle chatter, so Alex ignored it while he did his flight checks. _Electrical, weapons, avionics, flaps, engines, check. _

The Spare aircraft assigned to the mission taxiied over to the runway.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Titan 3/Taipan - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Spare 1/Count - Su-33 Flanker-D_

_Spare 2/Keystone - F-16CJ Block 52 Viper_

_Spare 3/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Spare 4/Full Band - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Spare 5/Tabloid - Mirage 2000-5_

_Spare 6/High Roller - F-16C Fighting Falcon_

In pairs, each Spare member rolled down the runway until they made it into the air. They would be going hard north to Waiapolo. Blaze and Taipan took the lead of the formation. On course, the formation flew for an hour before they got to the outer reaches of the AO.

'_I can practically hear the radar warnings from here.' _Tabloid joked.

'_No kidding. This place is covered in radar wave emitters.' _Keystone with his SEAD/DEAD loadout agreed.

'Stay below the clouds until you're ready to strike. Erusean SA-21 batteries will knock you out of the sky otherwise.' Blaze reminded the squadron of the looming SAM threat. 'Begin operation.'

The squadron of eight entered the valley system from the south. At a certain point ahead of them was a fork in the valley that lead around the entire area; the squadron split in half to go both ways. Blaze, Count, Keystone and High Roller went left while Trigger, Taipan, Full Band and Tabloid went right. There were five radar sites in total. Blaze's group was the closest to Radar 1. As they got close to it, Blaze rose above the clouds, released a HARM and dropped down below the clouds. The missile streaked forward and hit its mark.

'First radar down.' Blaze reported. The group went for the second radar.

'_Triple-A vehicles between us and the next radar.' _Keystone pointed out.

'Count, High Roller, you're up.' Blaze told the other two in the formation. In reply, the two afterburnered ahead of the HARM-equipped fighters, beelinging towards the ZSU-23-4 SPAAG vehicles that were in their way. High Roller appeared from behind a mountain, armed his AGM-65 Mavericks and fired. The ZSUs acquired High Roller on radar and started firing. The latter evaded while waiting for the Mavericks to hit their target. They hit and shattered the ZSUs. Count flew past High Roller and pulled off the same feat with KH-31P missiles. Longer-ranged than the Maverick, Count fired them outside of the engagement range of the second pair of ZSUs. The long-term effect was the same, the two ZSUs being destroyed by the supersonic missiles.

Blaze and Keystone took the lead and headed for the second radar site. Once within range, Keystone rose above the clouds and fired a HARM. Because the mountain on which the radar was placed, Keystone used a rise and dive firing method for the HARM to negate the height advantage. Like Blaze before him, Keystone dived back into the clouds before the SA-21s could get a fire-control lock on him. And again like Blaze, the missile hit its target, disabling the radar.

On the other side of the AO, Group 2 led by Trigger arrived at the first radar they were meant to hit. Preferring the direct approach to taking things out, Trigger popped up above the cloud layer, the underside of his aircraft bristling with GBUs and air-to-air weapons. His RWR started blaring indicating that hostiles were tracking him. Paying no mind, Trigger climbed towards Radar 5. He released a GBU at the zenith of the climb, shot over the radar and rolled to shoot down the slope of the mountain, disappearing into the clouds. He heard the bomb detonate behind him as he dived. The radar was destroyed. Radar 4 wasn't far behind. Taipan, carrying AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles, locked the GPS data for Radar 4 into his targeting computer and launched one of the stealthy missiles. It boosted ahead of his F-15 and guided itself to the target, burying into the command centre of the site and exploding spectacularly.

Both groups approached Radar 3 at roughly the same time. The least defended of the five, the two groups used more weaponry on it than would be sensible. Blaze and Keystone both fired HARMs at it, Taipan used his remaining JASSMs against it, Trigger dropped 2,500 pounds worth of explosive on the site, and everyone else gun-runned it as they crossed. The result was the radar site simply disappearing in a massive cloud of fire, debris and smoke.

'_Growler batteries have stopped tracking. All radars destroyed.' _Keystone reported.

'_Those spy sats tracking?' _Trigger asked, aware of the series of satellites that were watching them from above.

'_If they are, they can't do anything about it. I'd say that's a mission well done.' _Huntsman popped in. So far he had been quiet. '_That said, you've got friendly fighters ingressing from the west.' _

Blaze frowned. 'I wasn't told of any other operations in the region.'

'_Neither was I. Aircraft of VFA-051, state your intentions and destination.' _Huntsman attempted to contact the Super Hornets approaching Spare Squadron. Blaze was still frowning. _I've heard of that squadron. Where did I find them? _He thought to himself.

'Spare, stay on your toes. Something isn't right here.' He called out to the squad. The VFA-051 squadron didn't reply. They were getting to within visual range of Spare Squadron now, moving at fairly high speeds. Blaze was racking his mind. He absolutely knew that he had seen that squadron. It was one of the squads that had been embarked on the _Vulture II _when he first got into the war.

'_They're getting closer!' _Count pointed out. That phrase kicked Blaze's memory into action. VFA-051's callsign was Panther; the squad that Blaze himself had been the fourth member of for some time, and the squad that had been destroyed and disbanded following the rescue of President Harling at Selatapura, and a squad that primarily used the F-35C Lightning II and _not _the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

'It's a fake squadron! All aircraft, engage!' Blaze yelled over the radio. Whoever the fake squadron was, they got the idea first and locked onto the aircraft composing Spare Squadron. An eight-vs-twelve situation.

'_What the fuck? Our IFF data is impossible to spoof!' _Full Band said.

'_Not anymore. Huntsman, mark all non-Spare aircraft as hostile!' _Trigger requested the AWACS to mark the fake squad as hostile so they could engage.

'_Done. Take them out.' _Huntsman did the task and gave the order. Blaze obliged and loosed off a giant cluster of AMRAAMs and Sidewinders at the approaching aircraft before climbing and diving to evade the missiles fired at him. His missiles reached the enemy first, knocking out four in a single salvo. Trigger charged the enemy head-on, lashing out at the core of the group and firing missiles as he went. Only two connected, destroying one Hornet and severely damaging another. On the other flank, Full Band, High Roller and Tabloid all moved to evade the missiles launched at them. Tabloid and Full Band successfully evaded. High Roller did not.

'_I'm hit-' _High Roller called out before his F-16 exploded, taking him with it.

'_Fuck, we lost High Roller!' _Tabloid reported.

'Push the attack!' Blaze answered. They'd deal with the loss later. Keystone followed Trigger in the method of attack, charging a Super Hornet headon and, bizarrely, hitting it with a GBU-12. The bomb went straight through the aircraft without detonating, passing through the left-side air intake of the aircraft and shooting out the engine, destabilising the aircraft and sending it into a death spiral where it would impact the ground down below.

Six vs seven.

Count got into a dogfight with two of the Hornets. He nailed one when it crossed in front of him using his cannon, while the second one chased him. To evade the second Hornet, Count leveled out and Cobra-ed to get behind it. He then hit it using a Sidewinder, destroying it. Full Band, some distance behind in his own Super Hornet, launched long-distance attacks against the aggressor Super Hornets by using AMRAAMs and picking off the individual aircraft. He bagged two using this method. Trigger came around for a gun run against the last two hostiles. Turning into the flight path of one, Trigger hit one headon, the 20mm shells from his cannon ripping into the forward fuel tanks and causing an explosion. Before he could turn to get the last hostile, Taipan climbed up from below and speared it in the belly with Sidewinders. It was bisected by the missile and disintegrated.

'_All targets destroyed.' _Huntsman called out. Blaze levelled out and let the remaining members of the squad form on him before saying anything.

'Let's return to base. I don't want to get jumped by another squad using fake IFF signatures.' He explained.

'_Concur. We'll have to report this to Command.' _Taipan said. Blaze sighed in resignation of that fact. He never _had _been a fan of talking to regional command.

'Spare, we all good?' The voices all came in at roughly the same time.

'_Count, check.'_

'_Trigger, check.'_

'_Full Band, check.'_

'_Keystone, check.'_

'_Tabloid, check.'_

'Alright. Head back.'


	42. Chapter 40 - Where Dead Men Rest

**July 27th, 2019, 2000 Hours  
Zapland, Usea**

All of the 444 Squadron's senior officers were assembled in the commander's office around a single large table. Bandog was at the head of the table, rapping his fingers against the rim of the table while waiting for three people to arrive. Other people in the room included the air wing commander (Alex), the base adjutant (Michael), the advisors (Grimm, Mythic and Taipan), the air defence commander, the logistical commander and the company commander of the infantry component defending the base. Also in the room was Wiseman.

'So who are we waiting for?' The Air Defence Commander, a captain, asked.

'Trigger, Count and Avril.' Alex answered the ADC's question. Right on que, the door opened and in came the three people Alex had just mentioned.

'Are we late?' Trigger said jokingly.

'No, you're early.' Taipan replied to him, also jokingly.

'Charming. So, I see basically all the department heads are here. What's the deal?' Count noticed the obvious; save for Taipan and Mythic, who were a First Lieutenant and a Second Lieutenant respectively, everyone present was a Captain or higher.

'The regional command has decided to raise the status of the squadron from a penal unit to a regular force. As such, we're being moved further inland.' Bandog answered the question. There were a few whistles around the room. This was new to everyone.

'That's impressive, but why are we being singled out in particular?' Trigger asked.

'Because you three aren't going to be part of it.' Alex stood at ease. 'Wiseman?'

Wiseman nodded and looked at the three. 'Howdy, I'm Wiseman. I'm the commander of a unit that could use your skills in the field.'

'What sort of unit?' Avril asked.

'The Long Range Strategic Strike Group.' Wiseman answered. 'If it makes you feel any better, Commander Williams will be joining as well.'

That line gained Alex the attention of Grimm, Mythic and Taipan. Michael seemed to already be aware of this.

'You cheeky bastard. No invite?' Grimm joked.

'Hey, I was going to ask after the meeting.' Alex deflected the joke.

'I'm in.' Grimm didn't hesitate.

'Mythic? Taipan?' Alex extended the offer to the two lieutenants.

'I'll follow you, Major.' Mythic said to her original squad leader, Grimm.

'With respect, I'm staying here. This is where the Wolf Pack lies.' Taipan said, directed towards Michael. The latter smiled, as did Grimm and Mythic.

'Well. You three, you have a choice. Want to come?' Alex now directed his attention towards Count, Trigger and Avril.

Count answered instantly. 'Sounds fun. Sure, I'm onboard.'

Trigger's answer was right behind Count. 'Front-line action. Absolutely, sir.'

Avril thought about it for a second or two but her answer was solid. 'As much as I'd like to go home, you two dumbasses are going to need support.'

Alex stifled laughter before trying to speak. Count slapped Trigger's shoulder.

'Two buddies out on an adventure, eh?' Count.

'Fun. When do we ship out?' Trigger asked Wiseman.

'I'll be heading out tonight to sort stuff out with the squadron. Once we're set, and the 444 Squadron moves inland, you guys will be placed on a C-17 and shipped out to Borgo dell'Est. The court there wants to look into your cases.'

Alex zoned out of the meeting while all these conversations went on. After some logistical questions were asked and answered, and a plan of attack to the situation made, the meeting was concluded, and Alex returned to his office. He watched over the airfield for a while before going to sleep.

* * *

**August 5, 2019**

Time passed. The time of the 444 Squadron as a penal unit was ending. Across the base, anything of use to the military was being loaded onto C-5 and C-17 transports and being shipped out further inland.

On the flight line, Grimm and Mythic shook Michael's and Taipan's hands.

'This is where we part ways.' Grimm said to Michael. The ladder nodded.

'Just in case one of us catches the golden bullet, it was an honour sir.' Michael said to the major. He then looked at Mythic. 'You've got what it takes. Good luck kid.' Behind them, Alex approached.

'We're on a schedule, Han. You set?' He asked, approaching the Su-33M3 parked on the flight line.

'Alright. I gotta go. Best of luck.' Grimm excused himself and went for his Typhoon, also parked on the flight line. Avril was in the back seat of Trigger's F-15E, this time wearing a G-suit instead of casual clothes. Trigger and Count were exiting the hangar, dressed for flight.

'You know Trigger, I'm gonna miss this place.' Count was saying to the Eagle pilot.

'And just a few weeks back you were complaining about the shitiness of the situation.' Trigger retorted. Sometimes he found it hard to understand what was going on in Count's head.

'Yeah, but that's the fun in it.' Count shrugged. Trigger conceded that he agreed as the two separated to go to their individual aircraft. Trigger climbed the ladder.

'What took you so long?' Avril asked him as he took a seat and shut the canopy. In answer, Trigger unclipped his kneeboard and threw it over the back.

Now manned and ready, the five transferring aircraft taxiied over to the main runway. Alex led the formation. Trigger was at the back of it.

'_Spare Squadron, clear for takeoff. Best of luck guys.' _The ATC waved them down the runway. Alex rolled down the runway, followed by Grimm, Count, Mythic and Trigger. They rose into the air and climbed, moving north-east. They would never return to the Zapland region.

The next couple of hours were uneventful. Alex knew it was going to stay that way for a while. This was the third time he had taken this route. It wasn't until half-way along the path that he noticed something.

'Weren't we meant to have a transport with us?' He asked, mildly worried that he had forgotten something.

'_I've got our resident pilot-not-pilot on board, don't worry.' _Trigger reassured the squad leader. The flight pressed on. They approached the place they were going to, Borgo dell'Est. The airfield was 40 kilometres away. Alex was on the verge of zoning out when his radar warning receiver started pinging.

'_The border troops have Pantsir systems?' _Mythic asked. Alex shook his head.

'It's the Eruseans. Don't take chances, raise altitude.' Blaze ordered, pulling a 30-degree climb up to get above the operational ceiling of the SA-22 Greyhound's missile system. The others swiftly followed. No-one was expecting the Eruseans to be operating in the area. They were now operating at fifteen kilometres above the ground.

'_Bad news. Fighters approaching from the east and west. Mirages and Gripens.' _Count reported.

'_Coming straight for us.' _Grimm noted. Blaze checked his radar. Grimm was right. The fighters were coming right at the group. At their rate of intercept both sides would be within engagement range in a minute.

'Spare Squad, engage.' Blaze gave the order to engage the interceptors. Blaze and Grimm broke east to intercept the Mirages while Trigger, Count and Mythic broke west to intercept the Gripens. Blaze had D-model AMRAAMs for the first time since operating with the _Vulture_; as such, he fired before the Mirages could get into range. The missiles flew and hit. Two Mirages were destroyed then and there. The third wisely did a U-turn and retreated. On the other side, Trigger went into afterburner and personally chased down the Gripens. Only armed with the older B-model AMRAAMs and M-model Sidewinders, he was in visual range by the time he decided to fire. First off the rails were four AMRAAMs. Only one of them hit, knocking out the leading Gripen. Annoyed, Trigger resorted to the more reliable M61 20mm cannon. The Gripens fired back. Trigger deftly dodged the missiles that zipped overhead and replied in kind, ripping into the nose region and belly of the second Gripen, destroying it. Before he could focus his attention on the last Gripen, Mythic swatted it away with one of her own ARMAAMs.

'Fighters down. Form up.' Once the enemy fighters were down, Blaze ordered everyone back into formation. They were thirty kilometres away from the airport they would be landing at. The next fifteen kilometres were calm save for the constant RWR warning because of the Pantsir-S1 batteries in Erusean territory below them.

'_Second interceptor, straight from the north. A single aircraft?'_ Trigger read out his radar display. It was indeed one fighter - one fighter that was moving extremely quickly, doing over Mach 3.

'_It's moving like a Blackbird. Inbound, 30 seconds!' _Count called out. Instinctively, Blaze punched his engines all the way forward to intercept it. He had a bad feeling about this. He saw the aircraft in the distance, moving insanely fast. It was jet black, distinctive of the SR-71 paint scheme, but it was much smaller. It had forward-swept wings, like an Su-47. It also had a cockpit similar to an ADF-01 FALKEN. Blaze had never seen an aircraft like it. The unknown aircraft zipped past Blaze and _turned_ tightly to get onto his tail. Blaze read the markings on it as it passed. It was bare except for two markings. Both of which he recognised.

The Razgriz Squadron emblem.

And the personal callsign of a man who had died long ago.

The unknown aircraft shot over Blaze's left shoulder, transmitting a taunt on the radio as it did so.

'_Catch me if you can, kid.' _The pilot of the aircraft taunted him. It had an machine-like tone to the voice, but Blaze still recognised the accent.

'You're dead, Chopper.' Angered, Blaze released an AMRAAM at the aircraft and started chasing it. Surprisingly, Chopper didn't evade the missile, but adjusted course and blew the missile out of the air with a hidden cannon in the back of the aircraft. Unfazed, Blaze followed the drone as it dived towards the ground and fired a Sidewinder. This missile was also destroyed. Blaze fired a second Sidewinder. Destroyed. He growled. Blaze would have to do this with his cannon. The drone leveled out and Cobra-ed in an attempt to get behind the attacker. Blaze mimicked the movement and also Cobra-ed so that Chopper couldn't get on his ass. The energy of the unknown aircraft wasted for a brief moment, Blaze leveled out and fired his cannon, getting a few hits before Chopper shot off with the superior engine. First blood.

'_I knew you had a demon. Let's let it out.' _Chopper's voice taunted him more.

'Please.' Blaze answered with venom while waiting for his target to come back around. While Blaze couldn't outrun the drone in a straight run, his Su-33M3 had the same level of maneuverability at medium speeds. Chopper turned around for a head-on attack on Blaze. The latter waited for Chopper to get close before loosing off a torrent of most of his AAMs. Chopper adjusted to shoot most of the wave of missiles down, but two of them detonated near the aircraft and caused moderate damage.

'_Damn it. Good shot.' _Chopper cursed. He slowed down as he passed over Blaze's head again. Some distance behind them, Grimm, Trigger, Mythic and Count watched the battle.

'_Shit, that man is vicious.' _Count was amazed at Blaze's combative flight skills when he was angry. '_I couldn't stand up to that.' _

Grimm was quiet. He had heard Chopper's voice on the radio.

Back in the fight, Blaze was now chasing down the damaged and wounded aircraft.

'Chopper died nine years ago over November City. What are you?' Blaze was interrogating the pilot of the aircraft. If there was a scale for anger, Blaze would have shot off the end of the chart. He fired one of his few remaining missiles at the aircraft, which of course was shot down by one of the aircraft's rear cannons. He used his own cannon to destroy the rear cannon, which left him with a clear shot from the back should he had chosen to take it.

'_You're right, I did die in that stadium.'_ Chopper, or whoever he was, was explaining. '_In that sense, I'm not the guy you met at Heirelark. But the Belkans recovered my plane, with me in it. I dunno what they did, but I woke up in a lab somewhere.' _

Blaze's face went blank. He was confused, angry and hurt. He stopped chasing Chopper's aircraft and leveled out. Chopper formed up on his left wing, where he would have been all those years ago.

'Go.' Blaze said to Chopper, if he even was. He didn't have the spirit to finish him off. In compliance, in silence, the unknown aircraft diverted away from the main group and headed south, as it had been doing when they found it. The rest of the flight went without words. Even when Cyclops Squadron appeared from the north, looking for that aircraft. One by one, everyone landed.

The first thing Alex did when he hit the ground was run for a restroom and vomit.


	43. Chapter 41 - Fleet Destruction

_Chastised in a world of hate_

_Buried in an unforgiving grave_

_Come to the place_

_Where dead men rest_

**Tigerfish Air Force Base, Emmeria**

If there was a more insignificant base in the world, one would have to go pretty far to find it. Located far south of the Emmerian capital of Gracemeria, Tigerfish Air Force Base was a small support airfield formerly owned by the Emmerian Air Force but recently transferred over to the Emmerian Intelligence Service as a base for their inventory of SR-71 Blackbirds and TR-2S Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. Unofficially Tigerfish was also the base where the B-21 Raider bomber was developed and tested, but that had concluded some years ago.

In the primary building, inside one of the many derelict offices of a 60-year old base, Lieutenant-Colonel Lucy Hunter read over one of the many documents she had to decide if it was worth it to spend resources on investigating. After approaching the end of the stack, she sighed and stretched her back and arms. 40 years old, Lucy was a veteran of the Emmeria-Estovakia War where she had served under the callsign _Talisman _or Garuda 1. A major at the time, she had transferred to the Intelligence Service after being promoted to lieutenant-colonel. Now she was the commanding officer of the 3rd Recon Wing, based at Tigerfish.

Someone knocked on the door to her office.

'Come in!' Lucy called out. The door opened and in came the 3rd Recon's executive officer, Captain Wayne Powers. He had a document in his left hand.

'Apologies for interrupting, but this just came through the cable channel at Sudentor.' Powers handed Lucy the document. She opened it and read it.

* * *

_SUBJECT: REDEEMER Test Report_

_FROM: Schroeder, S. _

_TO: OPOFF, Drone Development, Grunder Industries_

_SEC: O3 Staff Restricted_

_Grimnoff,_

_The REDEEMER mating test with an ADFX-11 drone was completed today. Results exceeded expectations; the drone successfully destroyed an entire fighter squadron. However, an unforeseen glitch in the inhibition software caused the drone to go haywire and lose contact with the control centre. The drone was last seen heading to the Hatties Desert, but reports from Erusean fighter aircraft indicate that the drone may have gone as far as Snider's Top. _

_Due to the nature of this project, I strongly recommend deploying the Ghost Squadron to recapture and if necessary destroy the drone. _

_Regards,_

_Schroeder. _

* * *

Lucy placed the document on her desk.

'Get Lieutenant Woods in here.' Lucy ordered the captain. Powers nodded and left the room. A few minutes later he returned with another intelligence officer; Lieutenant Paul Woods. He had a briefcase with him.

'Ma'am?' Woods stood at attention.

'Take a seat, Lieutenant. You too, Captain.' She said to the two officers standing in front of her. Both compiled. 'Tell me what you know about the Redeemer project currently in the hands of North Osea Grunder Industries.'

The lieutenant nodded before speaking. 'Redeemer was an experiment started by Grunder to implant the digital memory and skills of deceased pilots into aircraft or drones to boost their combat lethality. The project was started in 2002 but no progress was made until 2010 when Grunder acquired the deceased body of Captain Alvin Davenport, who met the genetic requirements for the program.'

'Was Davenport's implementation successful?' Lucy pressed Woods to give the rest of the information that he knew.

'The project stalled in 2016. Davenport's replication couldn't be sustained for long enough periods.'

'According to this, it would appear that they found a loophole.' Lucy slid the transcript to Woods. 'Read.'

Woods read it. As he got into the juicy content of the document, he went wide-eyed. 'Ma'am, if Grunder managed to contain the prowess of dead aces, there'd-'

'-most likely be a mass Belkan retaliation across all fronts.' Lucy finished the lieutenant's sentence. 'Does the OIA know about the existence of this program?'

'Unlikely. Grunder's been wary of Osean intervention since the Circum-Pacific War.' Captain Powers answered the question.

'Get our liaison on the line. Tell them that we'll need their help.' Lucy ordered the captain.

* * *

**OFS **_**Orca**_

Alex opened the bulkhead door to the aviator's crew room that he had first met the members of the LRSSG in some months ago. Huxian was the only one in the room when he entered. She saw Alex enter.

'Hey commander. Thought we'd be seeing you again at some point.' She greeted him while reading a book. A murder-fiction book, Alex noted.

'Didn't think I would be coming back, if I'm wildly honest.' Alex admitted. He walked past Huxian to the ready room where he could store his stuff. After clearing Count, Trigger and Avril of their criminal records, the crew had embarked onboard the _Orca, _along with their aircraft and equipment. The carrier would be taking them to a remote island that had an airfield on it. From there, they would be staging an attack on the fleet that was currently parked up at Snider's Top.

Alex dumped his kit in the locker. He felt tired and depressed. While he thought that the aircraft he fought a day or two ago was fake, some of the things that the pilot said were still bothering him.

On the flight deck, Grimm stood near the edge of the stern, looking down into the water below. The water was a dark grey, typical of that of the colder regions of the continent. He thought back to the _Kestrel _from years back. He had never been on an aircraft carrier since that supercarrier had been sent to the bottom of the ocean by a Yuktobanian submarine. Grimm shook his head and headed inside.

* * *

_August 10, 2019, 0900 Hours _

_Snider's Top, Usea_

_Okay, time for your briefing. For a long time, our counteroffensive has been overpowered by the Erusean drones' auto-intercept system. If a craft enters their airspace and doesn't respond to their IFF, drones automatically take off and move to intercept their target. However, we've discovered that the system has a blind spot. We have acquired this valuable information by sending our other squadrons on dangerous missions to scout in the whole area and initiate combat. Of all the pilots assigned to us only two managed to survive the mission. If we don't act now before the enemy can fill in the blind spot, those pilots will have sacrificed themselves for nothing. So, we've been ordered to carry out a long-range strategic strike. Operating separately from the main forces as the Long Range Strategic Strike Group, we've been developing a strategy in secret. Cyclops Squadron, Strider Squadron and Razgriz Squadron will sortie deep into Erusean territory and will be carrying out... specialized long-range attack strategies. You will carve your way through the territory from the north to the capital of Farbanti, attacking important targets along the way. The first operation will involve striking the enemy's main naval force, the Njord fleet, which is gathered in Northern Usea. We've known for some time that there's a large supply base utilized by the enemy fleet in the waters around Snider's Top. At present, the enemy fleet is concentrated there. Naturally, they intend to attack Eastern Usea where Osean forces are stationed. If we can surprise the enemy with a long-range attack, we could potentially do devastating damage to them. Still, it's highly likely that their advanced fleet is prepared and has started to move, so combat with the enemy is probably unavoidable. We've verified the existence of a large supply base in the sea, as well as a medium-sized one in a valley by an estuary. It's a wide operation area, and there are a number of places you can expect large-scale combat, so we've set up a return line for replenishing supplies. Use it proactively. Any time you feel the need to stock up on ammo or make repairs to your craft, it's there. While aircraft and ammo can be replaced, the lives of our pilots cannot. We don't want any casualties out there. Remember that. The counterattack has begun. Brace yourselves!_

* * *

Blaze picked up his helmet and looked at it for a moment. Similar to his aircraft, the helmet had his signature flames insignia painted on it. He put it on and headed out to his Su-33. The squadrons he had commanded were getting closer and closer to his original group. Now he had Grimm and Mythic under his command.

_AIRCRAFT_:

_Razgriz 1/Blaze - Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Archer - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 3/Mythic - Typhoon FGR.4_

_Strider 1/Trigger - F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Jaeger - F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Skald - F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Tailor - F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 1/Wiseman - F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 2/Count - F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 3/Huxian - F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 4/Lanza - F-15C Eagle_

As Blaze started to taxi out of his hangar, he noticed that much of the LRSSG were using variants of the F-15. Mostly the air-to-air variant, which he found funny considering they were going to be on an anti-shipping mission. _Then again, most new F-15Cs have the E-model hardware, _Blaze remembered as he led his squadron past the taxiway to the runway. Once he was lined up, Blaze lit up his engines and shot forward down the runway, two Typhoons not far behind him. He raised his landing gear and cycled around the island waiting for Strider and Cyclops to join them in the air. As he approached the southern side of the island he saw the _Orca _sitting at anchor. She was the LRSSG's oversized ferry now. Blaze looked over at Grimm and Mythic - the two had the classic Razgriz paint scheme, full black with some red trimming at the vertical stabilizers. Strider Squadron joined them in the air; Trigger was leading them, which some found odd as the man was only a captain while the next senior in the squad was a major.

'_Cyclops is airborne. Head on.' _Wiseman toned into the radio channel they were using for inter-squad communication. The three squads merged and turned north, heading for Snider's Top. Blaze had been there many times. He hoped this would be the last time.

'_This is your local AWACS Long Caster, checking in.' _The voice of their mission commander popped in about half-way through the trip.

'_Welcome to the party.' _Wiseman greeted the AWACS. Blaze said nothing. Neither did Trigger, to the amusement of the former. Second time being a squad lead and already he appreciated the art of silence. Wiseman and his squad talked backwards and forwards with the AWACS while the other two squads ploughed on silently. Eventually the icy waters of the northern regions became apparent, which meant that they were getting close to the area they wanted to be. There were no long-range radar alerts. The Eruseans hadn't replaced the SA-21 and SA-10 sites that Spare Squadron had destroyed last month.

'Grimm, Mythic, we'll hit the primary fleet from the east. Divert.' Blaze ordered his wingmen, turning to the right and heading out further to sea. The two followed. They all had radar-guided anti-ship missiles on top of their anti-air weapons. The F-15-based squadrons would ingress to the valley platforms and bomb the ever-living shit out of them. Razgriz did a half-circle around the region, skirting on the outsides of the fleet's radar detection range until they reached the desired approach vector.

'_This is Cyclops, we are entering the AO.' _Wiseman reported.

'_Strider, reporting the same.' _Trigger reported.

'Razgriz, engaging.' Blaze reported. He looked back to Grimm and gave the hand-signal for the three-man flight to engage. Grimm nodded and gave that symbol to Mythic. They were in sync. The Typhoon pilots had RBS-15F cruise missiles, big things meant for sinking larger ships. Blaze's Su-33 was carrying GBU-10s and GBU-12s, laser-guided precision bombs. Blaze ordered the Typhoons to fire their missiles. Blue-coloured jet flames erupted from the RBS-15s as they dropped and shot forward towards the fleet. Blaze boosted ahead of the missiles. He wanted to hit the _Kuznetsov-_class carrier in the centre of the fleet at roughly the same time that the anti-ship missiles hit the cruisers and destroyers on the outer ring of the escort circle. Blaze got closer. He armed his GBU-10s; two-thousand pound bombs based on the Mark 84; and dropped them as he shot over the conning tower of a destroyer. The bombs streaked true, slamming into the midsection of the carrier just above the waterline. The hull buckled inwards before venting the force of the explosion outwards, creating a giant hole in the skin of the carrier that allowed water to spray into the internal compartments. A second hit further down the stern with the same effect. CIWS and gun mounts started lighting up the skies as Blaze passed over the fleet. Behind him, one of the cruisers was shaken by missile impacts. The same happened to a destroyer before a catastrophic explosion ripped off its bow.

'Good effect on target.' Blaze reported, gaining altitude and turning back towards the fleet. Both of the AEGIS frigates were focused on him. All the better for Grimm and Mythic to strike at them from the original attack vector. The two also had bombs. As Blaze evaded the SM-2 missiles fired at him, Grimm and Mythic struck at the two AEGIS vessels. Grimm got the one closest to the east while Mythic crossed over the top of the carrier and struck at the vessel to the west. They both dropped three bombs each. One of Grimm's missed the frigate but the other two slammed into the superstructure where they felled the conning tower and exploded in the hangar. Mythic's three all hit in the same spot near the middle of the ship. This blew out the bottom of the frigate's keel, effectively breaking the ship's back. Both ships were now rendered near-inoperable.

'_AEGIS frigates done for.' _Mythic reported. In reply, Blaze launched another attack on the carrier. He dived down at a 90-degree angle, aiming for the two blast shields and take-off ramp. Two GBU-10s were dropped. They hit with a combined total of 222 megajoules of energy, passing straight through the blast shield, the shield's internal workings and three decks before exploding, rocking the carrier. Blaze pulled up before he hit the ground and flew off to strike from another attack vector. In the meanwhile, Grimm opened up on the damaged cruiser. It was smoking from its port side but still had functioning gun and missile CIWS. As he spiralled to evade, Grimm utilised his GBU-12s to land a series of hits on the cruiser's starboard side waterline. At the same time Grimm used his remaining RBS-15s to attack a frigate. The bombs detonated near the bow and midships. One of the bombs went straight through the ship without detonating, creating a clean hole through the hull. The second exploded on the bow, fouling the ship's hull, while the cruise missiles sped up, climbed and dived through the top of the unarmoured superstructure, shattering the small escort ship.

Mythic attacked the carrier using all of her remaining munitions. Cruise missiles, bombs and her Typhoon's gatling gun all ripped at the carrier. Bombs hit the flight desk island, cracking open the bridge and destroying the flight control centre. Missiles picked away at the waterline of the carrier, causing flooding in internal compartments. The carrier started to keel over to port. She was listing and taking on water.

Blaze flew over the formation of mostly burning or sinking ships. Out of the eight ships that had composed the fleet, only two were still undamaged, and Blaze was about to make sure those two were going to the bottom of the ocean. The second cruiser and a frigate were steaming away from the rest of the fleet, trying to get away from the attacking fighters. Blaze ran up on the stern of the frigate and dropped a GBU-10. The massive bomb entered through the hangar of the _Perry_-class frigate and detonated underneath the front of the superstructure, splitting the frigate in two. The cruiser was firing at him with its frontal gun, missing every shot. Blaze flew around the ship, evading its gun systems, while waiting for Mythic and Grimm to hit it. The two came in, flying side by side, and hammered the cruiser with everything they had left - a few bombs and cannon rounds. The five GBU-12s between the two of them slammed into the side of the cruiser. The vessel recoiled for a moment before a larger series of explosions started rippling through the hull. A moment after that there were several large fireballs that shot into the skies. Some of the ship's magazines had been ruptured, crippling the ship.

'How are we doing for munitions?' Blaze asked his wingman and wingwoman.

'_Winchester on air-to-ground weapons.' _Grimm reported.

'_What he said.' _Mythic reported.

'I'm the same. Cyclops, Strider, this is Razgriz, we're RTB to rearm.' Blaze reported to the other two squads, turning away from the battlefield to head to the forward air base they were using as a supply field.

* * *

Meanwhile, Trigger and Strider Squadron were focusing on the northern airfield platform. They had already destroyed half of it; the fourth man in their squadron, Tailor, had found out that if the central support cores were compromised, the platform above and below it would collapse. Trigger took action on this and directed the rest of the squad to target the cores.

Trigger dived through a heavy flak screen to attack the central platform that had most of the anti-aircraft weaponry on it. Once he was within the right attack margin, Trigger loosed off a pair of CBU-105 cluster bombs towards the platform and pulled away from the heat of the AA fire. A Phalanx CIWS mount intercepted and destroyed one of the bombs, but the second one successfully broke open and released its payload. The platform was covered in explosions and dust, followed by oil smoke from many of the AA guns and SAM batteries that had been destroyed in the explosions. He dived down to sea level, turned around and pointed the nose of his aircraft towards the supporting core of the central platform. Trigger hammered it with a Maverick, which snapped the core and started the process for the platform to tumble into the icy waters below. Trigger waved through the ruins of the platform as Jaeger and Skald started an attack run through the long end of the facility to bring down what remained of the runway. They flew through, hitting each remaining core with Mavericks, while also avoiding slamming into any of the structures inside the tunnel. The two shot out at the end, the runway platforms collapsing behind them. With the runway gone, that rendered the entire facility destroyed, the rest of the platforms already sinking beneath the waters.

'Cyclops, Strider, we're coming to ya.' Trigger reported, eager to go destroy something else.

'_Don't bother, there's nothing left down here.' _Wiseman answered. Trigger chuckled. Between the three squadrons, everything of value had been destroyed. Trigger directed Strider Squadron to Cyclops' location. The two squads met up before leaving the AO.

'_Hey Trigger, what are those three lines on your plane? Scratches?' _Skald asked, referring to the three claws Trigger had on the vertical stabilizers of his F-15E.

'_I don't like 'em. Reminds me of sin lines.' _Count pitched in.

'_What are those?' _Huxian asked.

'Nothing.' Trigger and Count both said at the same time. They weren't exactly looking to discuss the details of their origins.

'_Well, that went better than expected. In celebration, who says we check out that Italian bistro near the base?' _Long Caster pitched in.

'_Why does a little island in the middle of nowhere have a fancy restaurant?' _Blaze asked the real questions. He was still in radio range. '_Still, nothing better to do.' _


	44. Chapter 42 - Stonehenge Defensive

**August 18th, 2019**

**Hatties Desert**

**Stonehenge Turret Network**

Freshly dressed in a g-suit, Talon stepped out of the cockpit of her F-35C onto the tarmac of the airbase that was located next to the Stonehenge facility. She saw the guns as she got out and marvelled for a moment. They were big in the surveillance images sent back by the security squadron, but they were even bigger in person. On the ground, Snow was waiting for her.

'Happy to have your wings back?' He asked the green-haired commander as the latter walked over, helmet in hand.

'Trust me, you have no idea.' Talon replied. Her arm had fully healed, which allowed her to lose the cast that she had been carrying around since June. Surprisingly, she had also been given her wings back which allowed her to transfer from the _Phobos _to the station. Snow guided her to the building where the pilots resided.

'For a facility this age, the place is in good shape.' Snow commented as the two walked over to the crew building.

'It's also fucking hot. Jesus.' Talon counter-commented. Her heat tolerance had been lost as a result of being in and out of air-conditioned command centres and medical facilities for the past few months.

'It's a desert, what were you expecting?' Snow retorted. Talon smiled and shook her head.

'Dragon Breath starts tomorrow.'

'Yeah. Has the execution plan been set up?'

'It has. The Air Force will be launching a major assault across the Erusean's radar network. If things go to plan, the Arsenal Bird will come right to us.' Talon summarized. That was the plan, anyway. The engineering battalion still had to finish setup of the remaining turret, and then that assumed the thing would fire accurately, if at all, in the first place.

'Which squad is getting assigned to the defence?' Snow asked. One of the Air Force squads would be assisting the Menhir companies in the ground and air defence.

'Special unit. The LRSSG.'

'Huh. Weren't those the guys who dealt with the Erusean fleet up at Snider's Top?'

'Yep.' Talon suddenly remembered something. 'Oh. Alex is part of the squad.'

Snow stopped in his tracks and stared. 'He is?'

'According to their roster, yeah. He's leader of the Razgriz Squadron.' Talon briefed the older commander. Snow had not heard of this, and he hadn't heard from Alex since the latter transferred to a penal unit in June.

'Razgriz _Squadron? _Do you know who else is on the list?' Snow probed Talon for more information.

'Major Hans Grimm and Second Lieutenant Sara Hunter. They're your guys.' Talon gave it. Snow caught up to her, also caught up in his own thoughts. _Alex, you cheeky son of a bitch._

* * *

**Later that day**

**Orca Forward Air Base**

Back at the LRSSG's base of operations, Alex and Wiseman looked over a bunched-together set of papers. A map of the Usean continent, transcripts, the lot.

'...so the 3rd Air Force is dealing with the northern strikes across the continent. A combination of long-range fighters and carrier aircraft will be dealing with the southern regions. We're going to be right in the middle of the crossfire.' Wiseman was briefing Alex. The latter nodded in agreement.

'We'll be working with some of the best. Trident, Razor and Poseidon are all blooded, and I can personally atest to the skill of the two commanders on scene.' Alex said. The three squadrons he mentioned had been in the thick of it from the very start of the war, and they had dished out their share and then some.

'You've flown with them?' Wiseman asked.

'I had Marcus as a wingman in the Razgriz, and I flew with Zoe in Panther.' Alex said. Both were good pilots.

'I hope they're good then. We're looking at a division of ground troops and a bomber wing coming after us if this goes south.'

'They won't let us down.' Alex slapped the table in summary.

* * *

**The following day  
**

_August 19, 2019, 1400 hours_

_Operation Dragon Breath _

_Hatties Desert, Usea _

'_All hands on deck. The time has come for one of the mighty Arsenal Birds to fall. 14 years ago, ISAF destroyed seven of the eight Stonehenge guns.'_

'_The eighth one was disabled by the Ulysses impacts. The Army has been working on an initiative to reactivate the last remaining Stonehenge turret.' _

'_However, the team on the ground will be vulnerable to ground and air attack. That's where we come in. We'll be flying in to cover the ladies and gentlemen on the ground. We only have one shot at this. Don't fuck it up.' _

* * *

And so the LRSSG moved inland. It was going to be a long trip. The Hatties Desert was roughly in the middle of the Usean continent, while their base was at the very east of the continent. A tanker squadron covered them about halfway to the AO. Strider and Cyclops refuelled first. Blaze let Grimm and Mythic refuel before he refueled himself. The two topped up their tanks and fell back into formation. Blaze lined up behind the tanker and pushed the engines forward gently to catch the basket of the refueling probe. He caught it, first try. Blaze smiled and waited for fuel to transfer between the two aircraft. Once his tank was full, Blaze retracted from the tanker, saluted the boom operator and fell into formation with the fighters.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Cyclops 1/Wiseman: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 2/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 3/Huxian: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 4/Lanza: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Jaeger: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Skald: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Tailor: F-15C Eagle_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 3/Mythic: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razor 1/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Razor 2/Luna - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Razor 3/Dagger - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Razor 4/Halberd - F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Trident 1/Zeus - F-35C Lightning II_

_Trident Squadron - F-35C Lightning II_

_Poseidon 1/Scorpion - F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Poseidon Squadron - F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Panther 1/Talon - F-35C Lightning II _

By the time that the LRSSG had arrived on station, the battle had already begun. The defending squadrons already on station were heavily engaged with Erusean fighters, bombers and ground aircraft. The Oseans were kicking ass, but the assault wasn't letting up.

'_Stonehenge ADIZ, we're entering your airspace.' _Wiseman reported to the defenders.

'_Welcome to the shitter colonel, now get your boys in here!' _Swordsman greeted the reinforcements and quickly ordered the LRSSG to get stuck into the enemy. Blaze obliged and started chasing down the Erusean Tu-95s that were on an approach vector to the base. He acquired a lock on radar and launched AMRAAMs at the lead bomber. The missile struck the Bear, knocking off one of its wings and destroying the aircraft. He did the same with the second bomber in the line, for roughly the same results. It wasn't until the second bomber went down that the escorting fighters, a mix of MiG-29s and F-15Js, decided to chase after the fighter shooting down all of their bombers. The Eruseans were _not _showing the same level of expertise that they had at the start of the war.

'Grimm, Mythic, take the bombers.' Blaze ordered his two wingmen, himself charging the Eagles and Fulcrums head-on. Before he could engage the escorts, one of them was hit by a missile while the second one evaded. An F-14 shot into Blaze's field of view and destroyed the second fighter with its cannon. The Swordsman was in action.

'I think I can deal with my own targets, Swordsman.' Blaze joked to the Tomcat pilot.

'_Oh, can you now?' _Swordsman retorted. Blaze shook his head while chuckling and diverting to the next best target, a long column of Mirage 2000-5s approaching from the north-west. Blaze locked the target, switched his radar to the TWS (Track While Scanning) mode and launched a barrage of his AMRAAMs at them. More maneuverable than the earlier Tu-95s, some of the Mirages popped chaff and evaded. Some of them still got shot out of the sky. The other ones did some fancy turns before dropping to the ground and roaring towards the facility. Blaze tried gaining a lock with his Sidewinders. Surprisingly he got a lock. He fired one, two Sidewinders at the Mirages. Unaware that they were being shot at, the two surviving Mirages from the first attack were both destroyed. Blaze looked off his shoulder at the wingtip-mounted Sidewinders. The last time he had fought other aircraft in a desert, the Sidewinders had been criminally ineffective.

Elsewhere, Trigger started one of many bombing runs against the mechanised and armoured battalions that the Eruseans were throwing at the Menhir bastions. He slowed down to just over Mach 0.5 and dived down on one of the formations, cluster bombs armed. He dropped two bombs and regained altitude to avoid being hit by the shrapnel from his own bombs. The two bombs separated over the target and covered the area in a wave of explosions. Trigger's attack was lethal to the ground forces. Anything that had been in the blast zone had been shredded or mangled, or both. Jaeger followed closely behind and released Maverick missiles at the leading tanks in the formation. The missiles struck from above and behind, destroying a line of four Leopard 2A5s.

'Menhir 5 has been cleared, rotating to Menhir 7.' Trigger reported. He only ever spoke if he needed to point something out. He and the rest of Strider moved around the facility. Menhir 7 was taking the brunt of a combined helicopter and motorised assault. Trigger shot over the nearby dunes at high speed and dropped more cluster bombs on the enemy targets. Explosions and dust resulted in a large cluster of the infantry turning into paste. Skald, Tailor and Jaeger, all following Trigger, did work with the helicopters, firing a large number of Sidewinders into the Apache attack helicopters. Most went down in balls of flames. The ones that didn't were subject to gun runs, which finished off the survivors.

'_Heads up, enemy bombers approaching the base from the north!' _Long Caster called out. It was up to Swordsman and the rest of Razor Squadron to carry out the intercept. Swordsman checked his radar display. The bombers were a combination of Tu-95s and Tu-160s. He switched to AMRAAMs. Strangely for a Tomcat, Swordsman didn't have the usual Phoenix loadout for long-range engagements. Instead he had two encapsulated missile pods mounted underneath either wing which contained AIM-120D AMRAAMs, the long-range version of the C-model AMRAAM which was more effective than the Phoenix. The Super Hornet pilots had the same pods. They all fired a series of the missiles. In between them there were 16 missiles in the air. The bombers and fighter escorts saw the missile wave and tried to evade. For all except a single F-15J, this was a futile gesture. The bombers exploded with full loads, creating masterful artpieces of fire in the skies. Luna chased the surviving Eagle and managed to shoot it down. Not far behind the Blackjacks and Bears were a cluster of black-painted aircraft. They looked like triangles and weren't coming up on radar. Swordsman saw them via the Mark 1 Eyeball.

'Long Caster, Swordsman, the Eruseans are utilising stealth fighters.' He pointed out, directing the squad to chase after them. Once they got close enough, Swordsman identified the little black triangles as F-117 Nighthawk stealth bombers.

'Looks like the Eruseans brought out the Nighthawks.' Swordsman reported. As long as there weren't B-2s firing cruise missiles from range, the inclusion of stealth bombers shouldn't matter. Razor Squad got close to the Nighthawks. They couldn't get a reliable lock on them with missiles, but that wouldn't stop the formation from using guns. The Tomcat and three Super Hornets came head-on and fired. Swordsman, Luna and Halberd killed their targets. Dagger damaged his but didn't shoot it down, forcing him to come around and finish off the smoking Nighthawk. This time he got it.

On the ground, standing in an open-air control centre next to the last remaining Stonehenge turret, Warrant Officer Jason Leahman was reading the display off one of the supporting power units while NCOs, officers and Major McOnie were physically doing handwork with the cabling. Around them was a fireteam of infantry. McOnie finished doing something and came over to the terminal that Leahman was reading from.

'Power level at 40 percent. 42 percent. Come on, damn it!' McOnie racked her knuckles on the side of the terminal.

'Come on baby, be good, we need you.' Leahman said to the machine. A few metres behind him, there was a series of three sounds. The first sounded like something hitting flesh very hard. The second was a body falling to the ground heavily. The third was a scream of pain. Leahman whipped around. One of the infantrymen protecting the command group had been hit by something. There was blood forming in a pool below the man's upper leg. He had been shot by a sniper. A second bullet hit him in the head, ending his screaming.

'Sniper!' Leahman called out, kicking up the man's M4A1 and firing in the general direction of the enemy sniper. He retreated to cover. Wisely, so did the other personnel surrounding the area. A bullet sparked off the crate that Leahman had retreated behind.

'Major, we need someone to deal with him!' Leahman called out to the lady with the radio, referring to the sniper team that now had them pinned down. McOnie nodded and withdrew the radio.

'_We need air support, there's a sniper pinning us down!' _McOnie mentioned on the radio. Up in the air, Talon looked around the local area on her thermal targeting pod. She saw the ground crew pinned down near the power trucks. She adjusted to the east. There were two people lying prone in the sand. One had a long rifle, the other possessing what appeared to be a set of rangefinders or binoculars. One of the two. Either way, sure that she was attacking a hostile target, Talon lased the target, circled around and came in for a bomb run. She dropped one of her GBU-12s. The bomb shot downwards for the target and scored a direct hit on the two. They disappeared in an explosion. When the dust cleared the two were gone.

'You're clear.' Talon reported to the people on the ground. The ground forces scurried out of their cover to resume their tasking.

High up in the skies, Blaze and the Razgriz Squadron were out intercepting scores of fighter and interceptor aircraft; Flankers, Eagles and Fighting Falcons, among other sorts of aircraft. It felt like the Eruseans were throwing everything they had at the defending garrisons instead of focusing on warding off the other Air Force and Navy fighters that were attacking elsewhere. Even now, the assault wasn't letting up. Blaze got into a dogfight with an Su-35. The two tangled for a little bit, diving and jinking in every direction. The Su-35 cobra-ed behind Blaze. The latter denied the Cobra by doing the same thing in his Su-33, wasting the energy of the Super Flanker and blasting him out of the sky with a Sidewinder. An F-15J jumped him. Blaze pushed the throttle to max to climb, gained some altitude and then let gravity push the nose downwards, hitting the Eagle on the dive with his cannon. Grimm was forced into a dogfight by a very aggressively flying F-16C. The aggression did him no good as Grimm simply utilised his Typhoon's superior maneuverability to do a loop around the Falcon and slam it with an off-vector fired ASRAAM. Flying at a lower altitude, Mythic got stuck in with a pair of Super Flankers. She killed one straight off the bat with a well-placed burst of cannon fire and used the second Su-35's maneuverability against it by waiting for it to bleed energy before whipping around and shooting him down with missiles.

'_Enemy rocket unit coming from the south-west, and enemy helo assault unit approaching from the north-east!' _Long Caster reported. '_They're planning a direct attack on Stonehenge. Stop them!' _

'Razgriz Squad, engaging the choppers.' Blaze reported. He, Grimm and Mythic stopped shooting down fighters long enough to turn north towards the enemy helicopters and intercept them. There was a large squadron of Chinooks and Apaches, roughly 16 strong. The squad lowered altitude and fired AMRAAMs at the assault units. The various missiles destroyed most of the helicopters, but miraculously one or two of them survived. A second pair of missiles fired by Mythic made sure that there were no survivors.

At the opposite side of the AO, Cyclops Squadron went after the rocket artillery trucks. The four-ship of F-15Cs were all armed with anti-ground missiles like Mavericks and Hellfires. Perfect for the target they were chasing. Wiseman and Count led the formation in. They acquired IR locks on the MLRS trucks despite the heat below. They fired the Hellfires first. Eight trucks were hit. Eight trucks were either destroyed or disabled. The leaders shot over the remaining trucks, fired at by the ZSUs they brought with them. Some distance behind them, Huxian and Lanza lined up their own attack run with Hellfires. Another eight missiles were fired, and another eight vehicles were destroyed, among them all of the MLRS trucks. Some ZSUs and supply vehicles survived the attack. The latter fact wasn't the saving grace for the fourth man in the squad, Lanza. As he and Huxian passed over, the ZSU that had fired at Wiseman and Count fired at them. Unlike the previous attempt, the ZSU actually hit something, in this case clipping off Lanza's left wing.

'_Ah crap. I'm hit.' _Lanza reported calmly. His aircraft started shaking in the air, but Lanza managed to hold it steady. '_Little shaky, but I've still got control.' _The squad formed up again. Count looked over at Lanza's F-15C. Oil, fuel and hydraulic fluids were spitting out of the severed left wing, if it could be called that. Lanza had no left wing at all.

'You're missing a wing man, you should land.' Count urgently advised the younger pilot. The latter looked off his shoulder and saw.

'_That's… charming. I'll put her down at the airfield near the gun.' _Lanza said, pulling off from the squad.

'_I've got your back. Count, Huxian, continue as before and try not to get clapped.' _Wiseman said to Cyclops 2 and 3, also pulling off from the formation to escort Lanza down to the nearby airbase.

'_Power level at 90 percent. We could fire now.' _McOnie reported from the ground.

'_Not advisable.' _Trigger pointed out on the radio. Any error in the firing parameters could result in a fouled shot and a mission failure.

'_Agreed. We don't want to mess this up.' _Leahman agreed with Trigger.

'_Yeah, you're right. Leahman, check the fire-control system one more time before we fire.' _McOnie conceded.

'_Long-range radar warning. The Arsenal Bird is closing. Ten minutes until it's within visual range.' _Long Caster pointed out. The plan was so far going well. Swordsman and Razor Squad were idling to the west of the station, waiting for something to approach from their vector. Considering that they and Trident Squadron were currently not occupied, the assault was starting to let up as the Eruseans were running out of defensive reserves. And for only one damaged aircraft. The plan was going exceptionally well.

'_So,' _Luna asked. '_What can this Arsenal Bird do, anyway?' _

'It's a flying aircraft carrier. Carries eighty drones and a plethora of air defence weapons.' Swordsman answered. The answer was more complicated than that, but as a naval aviator Swordsman could see all the resemblance.

'_It also has an energy defense field, so I'd advise not getting close to it.' _Trigger pointed out. He had practical experience fighting one.

'_Charming.' _Luna sighed. The man was a classic Marine.

In the south, Trigger dropped one of his remaining cluster bombs on surviving enemy infantry from one of his previous attack runs. He looked at his pylon readings. That was his last dedicated anti-ground weapon.

'Strider 1, winchester anti-ground.' He reported. Now he was only useful as an interceptor, and even then he wasn't carrying much in the way of anti-air. 'Returning to base for resupply.' Trigger flew around the facility before lining up the runway of the airfield and coming in for a landing. He landed smoothly, slowed down and taxied over to the hangars where the FARPs were set up. As he came around, he noticed one of Cyclops's F-15s already on the ground. It was missing a wing. _Landing accident? _Trigger thought as he pulled over to the ground crew. He saw Lanza among them. He set the engine to idle and opened the canopy, unstrapping and getting out.

'Lanza,' Trigger called out to the pilot. 'What happened to you?'

'A ZSU.' Lanza called back. He was uninjured.

'Get in back, I need a support officer.' Trigger said, motioning with his thumb towards his F-15E's RIO seat. Lanza nodded in approval and joined Trigger in the backseat. The ground crew reequiped the aircraft with air-to-air missiles and in five minutes they were back in the air. By this stage there was little pressure being applied by the Eruseans. They had exhausted their reserves trying to take the facility, and they had failed hard.

'_Arsenal Bird, five minutes out.' _Long Caster reported to the Osean forces.

On the ground near the power trucks, McOnie was at a terminal waiting for the power to reach 100 percent. It did, and the entire circuit lit green.

'Power is at 100 percent. Leahman, is the fire-control system set?' She asked the warrant officer. There was no reply. 'Leahman?'

McOnie turned around looking for the warrant officer. She was met by a fist flying at her face. McOnie ducked by instant and kicked forward, hitting the attacker in the knee. The attacker was wearing an Erusean Army uniform. McOnie struck forward at the man before he could restrain her, smashing him in the nose, rupturing a blood vessel there. The man stumbled back, dazed. McOnie started to unholster her M9A3 pistol to finish the attacker off, but before she could a pair of prongs hit her in the chest and zapped her. A second Erusean had appeared, and this man had a taser. McOnie convulsed and fell to the ground, unable to take control of her body. The first Erusean, the one with the bleeding nose, unsheathed a knife and prepared to take the kill. McOnie waited for a plunging blade into her neck. Instead, there was a gunshot from behind the two attackers and the attacker with the knife fell forwards, a bullet wound in his head. The one with the taser brought his SIG P226 around in defence but was met by a bullet severing his brain stem, killing him instantly. He released the taser and McOnie regained control of her body. She ripped off the taser probes and sat up. Leahman was standing there with a rapidly swelling eye, M4 in hand.

'Fire-control is fried. Those guys overloaded it.' Leahman answered McOnie's previous question. McOnie cursed.

'Damn it. We needed that. Without it-'

'We're not out yet. We've still got the oldest sensor in the book. Our eyes.' Leahman pulled the major to her feet.

'They're too unreliable…' McOnie brushed the sand off her uniform.

'Not with a rangetable. Come on, we need to set it up.' Leahman reassured her. He keyed his radio.

'Air Force, we're gonna need your help. Our electrical fire support system is fried, so we're going to do this manually. Destroy the Arsenal Bird's main propellers to slow it down. That'll give us a better chance.' Leahman gave the new briefing to the various squadrons in the sky.

In the air, Blaze scoffed. 'Oh, this just got a whole lot better.'

'_You heard them. The Arsenal Bird is approaching. Take out its propellers.' _Long Caster ordered. Blaze checked his radar display. The big fat fucker was close. Close enough that he could see it in the distance. Little specks started dropping from the bottom of the uber-carrier. The dreaded MQ-101 drone wave.

'Here they come.' Blaze muttered under his breath. 'Razgriz, head on.'

It was 30 manned Osean fighters against 80 unmanned Erusean drones. Because of the numbers disparity, the Oseans did the best thing they could have under the situation.

A missile barrage.

All squadrons fired their medium and long-range missiles into the incoming bastion of drones. ARMAAMs, Phoenixes and Sparrows shot forward. 80 missiles were fired into the metallic cloud. The drones recognised that they were under fire and tried to evade. But there was no space for them to evade to. The first wave of drones was completely destroyed. All 40 of them. The second wave had more space to move, so the effect wasn't as devastating, but it still caused major damage. In a single attack, well over half of the Arsenal Bird's offensive airwing was gone. Only 15 drones were left from the original 80, which tipped the scale in favour of the Oseans.

'_Strider, Razgriz, engage the Arsenal Bird. All other forces, destroy the remaining drones!' _Long Caster ordered. Blaze pushed the throttle forward and climbed up to meet the quickly-approaching Arsenal Bird. Grimm and Mythic followed to either side of them while Strider was directly behind. Trident, Poseidon, Cyclops and Razor hit what remained of the drones in a dogfight. The Arsenal Bird activated its close-in defences and started firing missiles and gun batteries at the attacking aircraft. The two attacking squadrons evaded the flak bursts and missiles, passing over the Arsenal Bird. They then turned so that they were directly behind the big fucking thing.

'Make it quick. Engage.' Blaze ordered as he readied his Sidewinder missiles and cannons and started unloading into the port-side main engine. Grimm and Mythic followed suit while Trigger, Jaeger, Skald and Tailor dealt with the starboard-side main engine. The engines were tough, tougher than the engines of the Arkbird from years back, but between the seven aircraft they managed to destroy both primary engines and even some of the secondaries before the Arsenal Bird started to activate its active protection system. Grimm recognised this.

'_Get back, it's turning on its energy field!' _He said. Razgriz collectively backed off. So did Strider. They did so just in time as a bubble shield activated and surrounded the Arsenal Bird in an eery white light.

'Now's a good a time as ever, Major.' Blaze called out to the ground battery. This was the best shot they were going to get.

'_Roger. Gun loaded, releasing battery.' _

Down below, the Stonehenge turret turned to face the Arsenal Bird. Mechanisms moved in the gun to prime the shell.

'_Fire!' _The gun fired. The firing noise was _loud. _The shell visually disrupted the air around it as it traveled doing hypersonic speeds.

'_Hit, damn it!' _The shell slammed into the Arsenal Bird's shield, _bypassed it _without breaking a sweat and slamming into the Arsenal Bird's hull. There was an explosion as the shell hit, bifuracating the bird and splitting it in half. Hull compromised, the two halves of the Arsenal Bird started falling towards the surface. Blaze watched it fall from up above.

'Those guns are scary.' He remarked. He definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of one.

'_And for only one casuality. That went off as well as it could have.' _Long Caster.


	45. Chapter 43 - The Wandering Pilot

Alex touched down lightly on the runway attached to the Stonehenge turret. As was per usual, he was the last from the squadron to land. Of the aircraft on the ground, the overwhelming majority of them were either F-15s or F-35s. He looked around. The other pilots had all disembarked. By the time that Alex had made it over to a hangar and disembarked, most of the pilots were going over to change or to listen to the debrief. The only people waiting for him were Commander Marcus Snow and Major Hans Grimm.

'So that's your penal unit? A bunch of Eagles?' Snow asked as Alex walked over to him.

'A couple of them are from my penal unit. But that's not the penal unit.' Alex answered. He slung his helmet over his shoulder.

'Another transfer?'

'As always.' Alex had a long history of being changed from unit to unit, it would seem.

'How do we keep managing to bump into each other in completely different squads?' Snow asked. He had a point. Even back in the Circum-Pacific War when Alex was in Wardog Squadron, they had met at Saint Hewlett, and later on he had been shot down by the then F-14A pilot over the Ceres Ocean.

'Dumb luck?' Grimm suggested. Alex nodded. The most likely answer. Unless there was such thing as fate, which Alex didn't believe.

'Real question is, who did you piss off to get here?' Alex asked Snow.

'No-one. I volunteered.' Snow answered. His old wingman and squad leader weren't surprised. 'And I see you got your extra stripe.' Snow pointed out Alex's Commander rank slide. He looked at it.

'Maybe. Anyway, have fun, I need to take a piss.' Alex excused himself and dashed ahead of the group, looking for a restroom. Snow stopped and looked at him as he ran off. Grimm stopped with him.

'Always on the move.' Snow mused. Grimm scoffed. The two went to the crew ready room to get out of their suits.

* * *

**Later that day **

After taking said toilet break, Alex had put away his gear, found an abandoned room near the hangars and crashed. After the long trek to get from Orca Air Base to Stonehenge and the resulting clusterfuck of a battle, he was exhausted. Alex woke up just before 8-o'clock at night. The instant he laid up, his stomach cramped. He ran over to the nearby sink. The cramp turned into a force that pushed everything out of his stomach, causing the man to vomit. Most of the contents in his stomach were liquid, so the vomiting fit was over quickly. Alex breathed in and out to calm himself. His throat and mouth burned. He was shaking. Alex had only had this feeling a few times before. Twice in 2010 and once in 2012.

On the other side of the base, the base garrison and the LRSSG were throwing up a victory party. There was a barbeque cooking all sorts of meats. Cheap beer was flowing through most of the personnel on the base. At one of the tables away from the action, Sara - Mythic - was watching the commotion while quietly sipping out of a can of lemonade. Because of her occupation, she didn't drink.

'Enjoying yourself?' A voice called from behind her. Mythic looked over her shoulder. It was one of the other female LRSSG pilots. Huxian, Mythic seemed to remember.

'Yeah.' Mythic answered, watching the spectacle from her table. Huxian chuckled and took a seat next to the 20-year old pilot prodigy.

'Not very talkative, are you?' Huxian noted one of Sara's tendencies. The latter laughed quietly.

'No reason to be.' Sara appreciated Huxian's presence. She wasn't the only one who disliked parties. The two looked at the party raging ahead. Most of the guys were singing broken parts of songs that they remembered while music blared. A few were seriously drunk; Lanza, Wiseman and Trigger for example, while many others were under the influence but were still capable of coherent thought.

'Can't say I envy them.' From behind the two, Grimm piped up. He had appeared from the side of the group. The sleeves of his uniform had cooking oil stains on them.

'Not a fan of parties?' Sara asked her old commanding officer.

'Not ones with alcohol involved.' Grimm said. He grimaced faintly.

'That's _probably _my fault.' Even Alex had shown up. Grimm turned to face him. He frowned.

'You look like you've seen a ghost.' Grimm piped up. Alex had a gleam of sweat covering his face, and he swore the guy was shaking.

'Bad dream.' Alex waved it off casually. 'What did I miss?'

'Celebration party.' Huxian answered. Alex almost rolled his eyes, remembered that he was guilty of the same thing, and stopped the motion as it started.

'Hey, Commander?' Sara asked Alex.

'Mmm?' He replied.

'What did you do to the major to sway him away from alcohol?' She asked. Grimm and Alex exchanged an awkward glance.

'So-' Alex began to speak.

'Basically there was a birthday party for one of the squad leaders at Sand Island in 2010, and this fucker managed to convince me to have a few cans.' Grimm cut Alex off.

'Okay. And?' Huxian waited for the punchline of the story.

'Grimm's liver doesn't like alcohol, so I almost ended his career with a heart attack.' Alex finished the story. Huxian and Sara both grimaced. Grimm and Alex both laughed.

'How we became friends after that, I don't know. Oh christ.' Alex took a breath to cut off his laughing fit.

* * *

The party lasted until just before midnight, where everyone was ordered to rest and cut off the celebrations. Alex was returning to the room that he had borrowed when Snow found him and pulled him aside.

'Alex?' Snow called out to him.

'Yeah?' Alex answered the call.

'Do you need a fourth man?' Snow asked. He was referring to Alex's Razgriz Squadron.

'Yes. You want to jump in on the LRSSG van?'

'I'd fit in better with your squad.'

'Fair enough. Alright, welcome.'


	46. Chapter 44 - Black Dart (Razgriz)

In the next couple of days, on August 22nd, the LRSSG moved away from the Stonehenge facility and back towards their base of operations. Across the continent, the Oseans thrusted into Erusean territory that could no longer be held without an Arsenal Bird covering the region. The Osean Defence Force was gaining forward momentum.

* * *

_August 22, 2019, 1100 Hours _

_Operation Black Dart_

_Roald Fusion Plant, Spring Sea _

'_Now that the Erusean's primary form of front-line defense has been destroyed, we suspect they'll fall back to their next resort; Weapons of Mass Destruction.'_

'_The first target of many to come in terms of WMD production is the Roald Fusion Plant north of Farbanti. It's a water-based reactor platform used for the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials. It's also the key facility that powers much of the capital.'_

'_Razgriz Squadron, you are being charged with destroying this facility. Its destruction will greatly inhibit the Erusean Armed Force's ability to produce and maintain nuclear weapons, and may save thousands of lives down the road.'_

* * *

Embarked onboard the OFS _Orca, _Alex, Snow, Grimm and Mythic were preparing for the mission. Because there were no ready refuelling aircraft that could operate that far west, the _Orca _was being sent into Erusean-controlled waters so that Razgriz and Strider Squadrons could reach their targets. Cyclops Squadron were operating closer to the centre of the continent and as such were not part of the _Orca's _airwing.

Alex was surprised to find that the original F-35B he had operated a few months ago had been repaired. It still had the flames artwork on it, although some of the black overcoat was missing from areas that had been repaired with new panels. The rest of the squad also had newly-provided F-35Bs. As they were lifted up via the hangar elevators to the flight deck, Alex noted the _Orca's _escorting vessels, two destroyers and a cruiser. There was also a submarine somewhere ahead of the carrier group, providing ASW support. In addition, it was also pouring down rain. Ignoring the grim conditions, Alex was wheeled over to the flight line. The tail fighter of Strider, Tailor, shot down the runway with a lit afterburner, needing all the thrust he could get to get off the carrier. Strider Squadron was earmarked for a different mission, a strike against a chemical weapons plant on the border between Erusea and the Federation of Central Usea.

'_Strider is clear. Razgriz, clear to start flight operations.' _The tower cleared Razgriz to launch. In response, Alex pushed the throttle forward until he hit afterburner. The F-35 rolled down the runway, up the ski ramp and all of a sudden Alex was in the air in the middle of the storm. Grimm, Snow and Mythic followed shortly behind him.

_AIRCRAFT: _

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: F-35B Lightning II  
Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-35B Lightning II  
Razgriz 3/Archer: F-35B Lightning II  
Razgriz 4/Mythic: F-35B Lightning II_

They were in for a long trip. The Eruseans had repaired most of their air defence network in and around the capital and established more frequent CAP rotations in the area, so even if their radars couldn't directly target the F-35 stealth fighters, the interceptors could. As a result, Razgriz had been launched from the Cascade Ocean, a few hundred kilometres west of Ice Creek. They would pass Cape Rainy before diverting south-west to attack the fusion plant. Blaze looked at his weapons display screen. Laser-guided one-thousand pound bombs, external fuel tanks and Sidewinders. He was looking to either completely destroy the platform, or at least to disable the main reactor. To that end, Blaze had ordered Snow and Grimm to bring a mix of GBU-16 bombs and Hellfire missiles. Mythic was acting as their missile truck so she was carrying AMRAAMs and Sidewinders should they encounter enemy aircraft.

The squad pushed on through the poor northern weather. The region was in the middle of a tropical depression. A quarter of the way to the Cape Rainy waypoint, the squad encountered a radar emitter.

'_Radar spike. Surface vessel to our north running radar in air search.' _Snow reported. Blaze looked. He was right.

'Maintain course. They don't see us.' Blaze ordered. They flew away from the area. At no point did the radar switch from search to tracking. From that point they didn't encounter anything. After an hour of flight, the squad reached the waypoint. As intended, the squad turned south-west. If they didn't encounter anything now, they would drop unexpectedly right on top of the target. Blaze checked his GPS. They were 15 minutes away. He made sure his targeting data was correct and checked his fire-control pod. Everything was green.

'Passing Waypoint 2. If you have any issues, now's the time to report it.'

'_All green.' _Snow reported.

'_Nada.' _Grimm reported.

'_All systems are good.' _Mythic reported. Everyone was in the green. There was no going back now. The squad approached in a line formation with Mythic climbing up to provide air cover. Blaze led the formation. He, Snow and Grimm were going to line up GBU strikes at the same time to cover most of the upper levels, where they would hopefully get a successful penetration against the reactor. On the edge of the horizon, the facility became visible. It consisted of three platforms connected to each other in an arrowhead-like formation. The centre platform was by far the biggest, being the platform that had the fusion reactor. The southern supporting platform was used for research and development, but the northern platform was where nuclear warheads were built and maintained. Blaze made absolutely sure that his fire control system was functioning correctly. There were civilians on the platform that he wanted to avoid hitting.

'Drop. Drop. Drop.' Blaze finally gave the order to release weapons as the three pitch-black F-35Bs reached the attack waypoint. Each aircraft released two GBU-16s aimed at varying levels of the reactor platform. The bombs smashed into the unarmoured side of the platform and penetrated through. Two of the bombs passed completely through the platform, not finding anything dense enough to trigger the warheads. The other four detonated, spraying fragments throughout the station. Of those four, one of them managed to find its way into the cabling that provided power to the fusion reactor and exploded nearby, cutting the power. As a result, the reactor shut down. Unlike fission reactors, fusion reactors were not self-sustaining, because they required a power input to keep the reaction going. Once the GBU-16 had severed the power connection, that reaction just stopped. No explosion, no fallout. Blaze, Snow and Grimm shot over the facility. Smoke was billowing out of bomb holes and open spaces. Surprisingly there was no counterfire. The facility had no anti-air defences.

Realising this, Blaze climbed upwards and came shooting towards the floor, his bombsight reticule hovering over the WMD platform. He dropped more GBUs. Both hit the centre portion of the roof of the platform and went straight through without exploding. Blaze cursed as he pulled up to avoid hitting the floor. He had intended to hit the supporting core that held the facility up from above. Having missed, Blaze was now coming around from sea level to hit the core from the horizontal axis. He released his last two GBUs at the core and turned away to avoid the platform. This time he got a direct hit.

The entire platform shuddered from the bomb hit. There was a metallic groaning noise as metal gave away and started plunging the entire platform into the cold waters below. The core supporting pylon then collapsed under its own weight and the weapons development platform fell into the ocean. Blaze thought it was almost graceful. There was little time to watch it fall, however.

'_Incoming flight of fighters coming out from Farbanti. Su-37s and Su-35s.' _Mythic reported to the ground-attack fighters. She was ready to engage them should the order have been given.

'Head on. Engage.' Blaze indeed gave the order to engage. He didn't want to direct the Erusean Air Force straight to the _Orca _where they could sink it. Although he, Snow and Grimm weren't armed for anti-air, they still had a small number of Sidewinders and AMRAAMs to use against four enemy fighters. Mythic ended up taking the first shot with an AMRAAM against the lead aircraft. The missile streaked forward for a minute or so, but did not connect. The leader deftly evaded. The Super Flankers and Terminators increased their speed to close the distance.

'_Enemy identified. F-35B formation.' _One of the Super Flanker pilots reported.

'_Black bodies, red-tipped stabilizers.' _A Terminator pilot added information.

'_It's Captain Williams and his crew. Ghost Squadron, engage. No retreat.' _The leader, also a Terminator pilot, coldly ordered her flight. Blaze exhaled. He had heard that voice some time ago, when he had taken part in an assault against the Erusean capital. They were up against an ace squadron.

* * *

**Tigerfish Air Force Base, Emmeria, Anea**

While the Razgriz Squadron was tangling with the Erusean nuclear program, Lieutenant-Colonel Hunter and her cadre of officers were watching a live video feed from the other side of the planet. The feed was coming from a B-21 Raider equipped with an imaging camera and electronic interception hardware. The feed showed four black-painted F-35s tangling with an equal number of unmarked white and grey Su-35s and 37s. At the same time as the video feed, the B-21 was recording radio transmissions between the individual aircraft.

'_Ghost Squadron, engage, no retreat.' _

'_These guys have skill and tech behind them. Watch your back.' _

'_Splashed the one with the two-face emblem.' _

In the video feed, one of the Su-35s was hit by a missile and exploded, spinning the engagement in favour of the Oseans. Hunter was impressed.

'So these are the pilots your country trains?' She asked the Osean OIA liaison, David North. The latter smiled.

'Good, aren't they? But what you told me was that the Ghost Squad were after an experimental drone, not Osea's top fighter aces.' North expressed pride for the Osean aces before returning to the subject.

'There's been no reply from Sudentor or any sub-channels. So I'd say it's best assumed that Ghost are on standby for the Eruseans until orders are patched through.' Hunter gave her hypothesis. She pressed the push-to-talk button to transmit to the aircraft commander of the Raider. 'Gunslinger, Mother, return to base. We've got what we need.'

'_Gunslinger reads. RTB.'_

* * *

Blaze weaved in between Snow and Mythic as they chased down the remaining Su-35 to get on the tail of the leader's Su-37. Grimm had shot down the other Su-35 and was now in a dogfight with the second Su-37. Blaze eventually got onto the leader's tail and gave chase. He fired a Sidewinder. The stubbornly resistant leader evaded the missile and attempted to use all sorts of fighting maneuvers to get behind Blaze and attack him. Blaze was just as stubborn and eluded all of her attempts to do so. One of the last things she tried to do was a high-speed Cobra similar to what Mihaly would do a lot. Unlike Mihaly, her setup was easy to spot so once the Ghost Squadron leader pulled it off, Blaze simply loosed off a missile and blasted her out of the sky with it. The Su-37 started coming apart in air, but the pilot had enough time to eject safely. Blaze looked at his weapons display for the second time that day and realised he had no anti-air weapons left.

'Winchester.' Blaze reported to his squad.

'_I'm the same. This is getting closer and closer to that one time off Farbanti.' _Snow was also Winchester on AA weaponry. Thus Grimm and Mythic were pitted against the last Su-37, as Mythic had managed to bag the other Su-35. The aircraft was running away from the fight, outnumbered, outskilled and outgunned. A wise decision. Razgriz Squadron had completed their mission. Now they needed to return to the carrier. As they headed out to sea to get out of Erusean radar range, Blaze noticed something above them. An out of place shadow. It appeared very briefly between clouds before disappearing. A large bomber aircraft. He thought about going after it for a moment. Blaze decided not to. No point.

'Grimm.' He asked the longest-serving member of the group currently present.

'_Yeah?' _Grimm replied. He was ready for the question.

'Where do you get your pilots from?' Blaze asked. He was certain there was a place where all good pilots came from.

'_Heierlark. Why do you ask?' _Grimm answered.

'Remind me to put a recommendation on Mythic's file.' Blaze said. Although he had only had Mythic in Razgriz for all of two weeks, Blaze had seen enough for the ace to be promoted from Second to First Lieutenant.

The squadron retraced their original path back to the _Orca. _They crossed the area where they had detected the surface vessel from before. It was no longer there. A little bit after that, they came into contact with the _Orca. _As usual, Blaze hovered around the carrier while waiting for the other three to land. He was the last to make contact with the flight deck. Blaze noted that in addition to Razgriz Squadron's four F-35Bs on the deck, there were also four other regularly-painted F-35s on the deck, which meant that Strider Squadron had returned from their mission. Blaze saw the Strider pilots watching him land. They had just gotten back by the looks of things. Blaze landed his F-35 and let the ground crew do their thing by moving the aircraft out of the way and tying it down before he cut the engine and electrical power. Alex opened the canopy and got out of the aircraft. On the flight deck near the superstructure, Trigger was waiting for him.

'Mission success?' Trigger asked.

'Mission success. You?' Alex asked Trigger the same question.

'Mission success.' Trigger smiled.


	47. Chapter 45 - Black Dart (Strider)

At the same time that Razgriz had been running an attack against a nuclear fusion plant, Strider had gone down south to attack a target closer to Osean forces.

* * *

_August 22, 2019, 1100 Hours _

_Operation Black Dart_

_Black Mesa Chemical Warfare Research Plant, Sierraplata, Usea _

'_Now that the Erusean's primary form of front-line defense has been destroyed, we suspect they'll fall back to their next resort; Weapons of Mass Destruction.'_

'_Strider Squadron, you'll be running an operation against a chemical weapons research centre near the Erusean long-range missile bastions at Sierraplata. This facility isn't currently used for weapons production, but we know that it is capable of producing industrial scales of chemical and biological weapons should it be geared to do so.'_

'_Proceed to the mission area and destroy this site before the Eruseans can start deploying chemical weapons against our forces on the front lines.' _

* * *

Strider Squadron was in the ready room gearing up before Razgriz Squadron had. They would be the ones going up into the skies first.

'A long range strike and recon trip deep behind Erusean lines to go after weapons of mass destruction. This sounds familiar.' Trigger was musing as the group was kitting up. For the mission Strider had gained Huxian while Cyclops had gained Tailor. Opposite of Trigger, Jaeger shook his head.

'And a tropical depression. Yinshi Valley, anyone?' The older major pointed out what operation this was starting to look like.

'What's next, Mister X?' Huxian asked. Trigger inhaled silently. The last time he had encountered that particular pilot, he had almost ripped the wings off of his F-15E trying to chase him. _A fucking F-15E. _The conversation ended uncomfortably with the mentioning of the experimental squadron leader. A minute or two after the conversation did end, Strider moved out to their F-35s as Razgriz entered the ready room to kit up.

'Chemical weapons, Trigger, they are nasty.' Blaze said to Trigger as he approached his locker. Blaze had experience dealing with chemical attacks. The Bana City attacks for example.

'I'll take your word for it.' Trigger said to Blaze before leaving the room. Strider's F-35s were positioned on the flight deck. The four went up to them.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-35B Lightning II  
Strider 2/Jaeger: F-35B Lightning II_

_Strider 3/Skald: F-35B Lightning II  
Strider 4/Huxian: F-35B Lightning II_

Like Razgriz Squadron's leader, Trigger was the first to get off the deck. Huxian was next, followed by Jaeger and Skald. Once everyone was in the air and above the storm, they diverted south-west to approach the target facility. Because the facility was small and they were more likely to encounter air resistance, Strider was running a stealth mix of 1000-pound JDAMs and Sidewinders, all carried in the internal bays. Their target was also closer to the carrier, so there was no need to carry external fuel tanks. The squadron went feet dry half an hour into the flight. There was no opposition to face them. Clear skies all the way to the objective. Trigger frowned. This was the core of Erusea's strategic weapons reserve. He expected more in terms of fighters and ground-based air defence to be opposing Strider.

'Long Caster, Strider 1.' Trigger called the mission commander over long-range radio.

'_Send.' _Long Caster was quick to reply.

'I need an ELINT report for the Sierraplata region.' Trigger requested. Throughout the war, the OADF and OMDF had been conducting scans of the Erusean's radar and air defence network, which were then compiled in regional reports which were often used in threat briefings for numerous operations. Trigger himself had seen one when briefing for the Artigilo Port operation.

'_Sending. You should be getting it in a second.' _Long Caster beamed the file to Trigger's computer bank. Trigger checked his large LCD screen. The file was there. Trigger opened it and read what sort of air defences that were known to reside in the area. The list included most of what he expected. SA-10 Gauntlets, SA-22 Greyhounds, the full air-defence net. Yet none of them were active.

'Strider, heads on a swivel. Something isn't right here.' Trigger called out to the squad. Strider increased in speed to get to the area quicker. If the Eruseans knew they were coming, speed would be their best ally. They passed the half-way point shortly after crossing over a mountain valley near to the ocean. Soon after, Strider Squadron entered the AO. The squad had their low probability of intercept radars running, looking for any signs of aircraft and ground-based AA in the area. There was some air movement; on the other side of the region, a squad of Typhoons and MiG-31s were chasing after something that they couldn't detect. The fighters were Erusean judging by their lack of BLUFOR IFF.

'_I see hostiles. Trigger, orders?' _Skald asked. It was a rhetorical question, they only had eight Sidewinders between all four aircraft. Not enough to deal with all of them.

'Ignore them. We can't fight them anyway.' Trigger ordered. Combined, the squad formed up. Trigger checked his GPS tracking. The targeting data was right on top of the facility. As Strider passed over the drop point, Trigger gave the order.

'Drop, drop, drop.' The weapon bay doors of the four F-35s opened and out of each of them dropped out GBU-32 GPS-guided JDAMs. Similar to the Paveway series of laser guided bombs, JDAMs were also a precision weapon. Eight one-thousand pound bombs spun towards the GPS coordinates of the chemical facility. Against an unarmoured target, the effect was as expected. The bombs impacted in a long line and exploded collectively, ripping the building apart in a large cloud of gravel and dirt. Trigger watched the scene through his targeting pod. After the dust cleared, all he could see was jumbled together pieces of rubble. The strike had blown the facility to pieces.

'_Jesus christ. The Eruseans are gone.' _Jaeger pointed out while Trigger watched the JDAMs destroy their target. The latter looked at his surroundings, and then his radar. Jaeger was right. The Typhoons and MiG-31s that were chasing their unseen target had all disappeared. Trigger looked at his surroundings again. _What the fu-_

A black, grey and white aircraft shot by Strider's formation. Trigger had to bank to one side to avoid a head-on collision with the aircraft that had suddenly appeared. He looked off his shoulder. Looking at the shape and size of the aircraft, Trigger identified it as an Su-57. But there were a few out of place things on the Felon. It had additional vents on the wings and body that were raised. This Felon also seemed to be more maneuverable than a normal Su-57. It pulled an extremely tight 180 turn and was now trailing the Osean F-35s.

'_Do we use Felons?' _ Huxian asked. The OADF had yet to procure the 5th-generation fighter aircraft. Trigger tried his hand at air maneuvering to get behind it. No use. The Felon pilot had the skills to match Trigger move for move.

* * *

Sitting in the cockpit of the Su-57, Grimnar checked his watch while tailing the four F-35s that had shown up out of nowhere. _12PM. _The lead fighter had tried to get him off their tails. Grimnar denied the attempts.

'High Watcher, who am I looking at?' Grimnar asked his AWACS. He saw the three strikes on the tail of the lead fighter and recalled something about that marking on the Erusean air threat board.

'_Osean Air Force fighter squadron, the Striders. Leader callsign is Trigger, I'll see if I can dig up a file. Wait one.' _High Watcher reported. Grimnar scoffed. He opened a radio channel on an open frequency.

'Strider Squadron, state mission intention and port of origin.' Grimnar said. He trailed Trigger while waiting for a response.

* * *

Trigger frantically looked at his radio and at the Su-57 still behind him. Everything he had tried, the guy had countered with ease. Whoever he was, he didn't want the Oseans anywhere behind him.

'Unmarked aircraft, what are your affiliations?' Trigger tried the diplomatic option, changing radio frequencies quickly so he could communicate to his squad. 'Strider, return to the carrier.'

'_I asked first.' _Trigger noticed that the man had a grizzled voice. An old man?

'How do I know if you're a friendly?' Trigger retorted.

'_You'd be dead if I wasn't.' _The unknown man counter-retorted. Trigger gulped. He gave in to the pilot's demands.

'Destruction of a chemical weapons plant. An Osean aircraft carrier.' Trigger answered. The Felon stayed behind them for a couple of seconds.

'_Interesting._' The pilot of the Felon said to himself before breaking loose and started flying north-east away from them. Trigger tracked the Su-57 with his sharp eyesight to make sure the fighter went away before electing to complete the mission and return home.

'_Jesus. Who was that?' _Jaeger asked as Strider Squadron crossed feet wet to return to the carrier.

'You see his tail? No markings. Probably a merc.' Trigger answered.

'_Goddamn mercs getting all the good shit.' _Skald complained. Trigger scoffed. He did have a point. Trigger then sighed. He accepted the fact that the merc had made Strider's job a lot easier and continued to return to the carrier. Half an hour later they found the _Orca _and her escorting warships. The carrier strike group had remained in roughly the same area from when they had left. Trigger did circles around the ship while waiting for everyone else to land. The BLUFOR tracker in his aircraft indicated that Razgriz Squadron was also returning. Everyone else was down. Trigger came in for his landing approach, landing on the stern of the vessel. He disembarked his F-35 as the first member of Razgriz landed on the deck. The rest followed. Blaze was the last one to land; Trigger knew this because of the flaming nose art on his F-35. Blaze was pulled over to the side of the deck where he got out. Trigger waited for him over at the superstructure.

'Mission success?' Trigger asked the commander.

'Mission success. You?' Alex asked the captain.

'Mission success.' Trigger answered. The two entered the superstructure.


	48. Chapter 46 - Bunker Buster

_[Unknown 1] What's the status of our operations on the Usean continent?_

_[Unknown 2] The Oseans are gaining a bigger and bigger foothold against the Eruseans-_

_[1] Our operations, doctor. _

_[2] Well. Since the loss of our REDEEMER drone, things have gotten out of hand. We've yet to determine its location, and Ghost Squadron was destroyed by the Razgriz over the Roald power plant. _

_[1] Do you have a plan to recover REDEEMER and to get rid of the Razgriz?_

_[2] I don't believe it's possible at this stage. We've lost an Arsenal Bird. A good chunk of the fuel source that powers the UCAVs was bombed into the stone age, and as I was saying before the Eruseans are losing ground on every front. _

_[1] Hmm. This is a problem._

_[2] Indeed. I recommend proceeding with development of the Raven drones. I'll discuss further AI development with Mihaly. _

_[1] Very well. On the topic, do you know Erusea's plan of action?_

_[2] I'm not privy to any sensitive information released from the war cabinet, so you know what I know. _

_[1] Very well. Is there anything else you want to bring up while I'm here?_

_[2] No. Are we done here?_

_[1] We are. Cutting communications. _

_[End transcript]_

* * *

**Orca Forward Air Base**

The LRSSG was back at full strength. And among them was a freshly-promoted lieutenant. In one of the empty inflatable hangars, Alex and Wiseman were facing Sara. They had their right hands up.

'I, Sara Hunter, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Osean Federation against all enemies, foreign or domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. And that I will obey the orders of the President of the Osean Federation and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.' She recited the oath.

'First Lieutenant Sara Hunter, step forward.' Alex ordered. She did so. Alex presented her with a small sandwich bag. Inside were three rank slides; first lieutenant bars. Sara took them. The slides appeared to be the same as the ones she already had. The difference was the extra flower-looking symbol. There were two of them on the first lieutenant bars compared to the single flower on the second lieutenant bars.

'Well done, Lieutenant.' Alex congratulated her.

'Thank you, Commander.' Sara took a few seconds to change out the rank slides on the uniform she was wearing. While focusing on changing them, she heard radio chatter followed by Alex answering on his personal radio and walking away from the hangar. Wiseman was following. Scoffing, Sara also left the hangar and headed for the dorm building that the LRSSG occupied.

'What's the deal?' Wiseman asked Alex as they walked through the various hallways to get to the command room.

'He didn't say, but it's urgent.' Alex replied, starting to pace faster and faster.

'Define urgent?' Wiseman asked Alex again. Something had to warrant the usually calm commander speeding up.

'We might have to scramble, urgent.' Alex started jogging, forcing Wiseman to jog as well to keep up. They burst into one of the command rooms a minute later. Long Caster, Grimm and Trigger were already in the room.

'Welcome. We have a problem.' Long Caster greeted them, navigating on the computer console he was at to bring up a high-resolution image on the big screen at the front of the room. It showed a mountainous region, with a small building complex in the middle of the screen. And in the middle of that complex was a long metal tube filled with bad news. An intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. S3 missiles, capable of being fitted with nuclear warheads.

'Oh, that's charming. Is this at Sierraplata?' Alex processed the information quickly and asked.

'It is. And the Eruseans are planning to launch these missiles at the Osean Army garrisons east of the border.' Long Caster explained the situation. Alex rubbed the stubble he had on his chin and sighed. He looked at the images. The silo that the missile was contained in was surrounded by a thick concrete barrier, likely several metres thick to resist attacks by laser-guided bombs. Which meant that their GBU-12s and GBU-24s would probably bounce off the surface of the silos.

'Those silos look like they're going to be a bitch to penetrate.' Trigger pointed out before Alex said it. 'I don't suppose we have five-thousand pound bunker busters lying around?'

'Our GBU-28 stock was put into reserves after the Circum-Pacific War. Last I checked, the last squadron cleared to use them was the 20th Weapons Squadron out of Mayfield.' Grimm said.

'We're not calling up the Aardvarks. They're too vulnerable.' Wiseman dismissed the idea. 'Tim, do we have any bomber squads available in the region?'

'The 9th Bomber Wing is based out of Fort Greys Island.' Trigger suggested. 'Spirits. They have MOPs on hand.'

'Sixty metres of penetration. That's more than enough for any sort of target.' Long Caster stated the penetration capabilities of the GBU-57B Massive Ordnance Penetrator. One of the biggest conventional bombs ever created. The B-2 Spirit was currently the only aircraft in the Osean inventory that were rated to carry them.

'I'll get on the horn to the squad leader. You guys get ready to scramble.' Wiseman ordered. Alex, Grimm and Trigger all left the room heading for the crew ready room and the hangars. A quarter of the way to the hangar bay the trio came across Count.

'You guys are in a hurry.' He commented.

'We're scrambling.' Trigger said as the trio passed. Count stopped in his tracks for a few seconds. A scramble. He had no idea what for.

'Ah, what the hell.' Count ran to catch up to the trio.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Fort Greys Island Air Force Base**

'Chief, we ready?' On a nearby island, Lieutenant-Colonel Marcus _Sheep _Shepherd asked one of the crew chiefs tending to his aircraft. He was dressed in full flight uniform and had a helmet resting underneath one arm. Sheep, as his squadron called him, was the leader of the 9th Strategic Strike Squadron, part of the OADF's Global Strike Command and more directly part of the 9th Bomber Wing. Greying hair revealed his age. Sheep was a long-time veteran. The Belkan War, the Circum-Pacific War, Sheep had even been part of the covert Osean task force that provided direct support for ISAF during the Continental War.

'Armed, fuelled and ready to go.' Master Sergeant Kyle Powell replied, wearing his oil-covered working uniform. Getting a bomber squadron's armament changed out for a completely different mission than what they were on standby for, _on a whim, _was a pain in the ass. Especially when it came to using a weapon that had a particular niche and as a result was in low stock.

'Brilliant. We're launching in five, keep up the good work.' Sheep complimented the crew chief and continued to walk over to his B-2. Alongside him was Sheep's pilot, Captain Jordan Kelly.

'So sir, you think we've got this?' Kelly asked, referring to their ability to successfully complete the mission.

'Do we have a choice?' Sheep retaliated with his own question.

'When you put it that way.'

'Exactly. 9th Squadron, mount up!'

* * *

_September 2, 2019, 1300 Hours_

_Operation Magic Spear_

_Sierraplata Missile Range, Sierraplata, Usea_

'_After we wiped clean Erusea's key frontier defenses and destroyed a selection of their weapons of mass destruction, they've decided it best to activate their small arsenal of IRBMs and launch them at Osean Army and Air Force garrisons just across the border. These things are loaded with god knows what. The silos were readied early this morning.'_

'_Assuming that the Eruseans reactivated their entire S3 stock, this means they have five missiles in total. Razgriz and Strider, your job is to escort the bombers in so they can drop their earth-penetrating bombs and hit the silos. There's a spell of heavy weather around the region and the area is covered in forests and mountains, so watch yourselves out there.'_

* * *

While the 9th Bomber Squadron was preparing for takeoff, the LRSSG was already in the air and heading for their target in the middle of the continent.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Silex 1/Sheep: B-2A Spirit_

_Silex Squadron: B-2A Spirit_

The skies over the sea between the eastern island and the mainland were clear and sunny. Blaze found this fitting for the situation. The calm before the storm. The formation pressed on; Blaze and Archer in the lead with Trigger and Count following closely behind in their F-15s. They all possessed full air-to-air loadouts in consideration of the mission. As had been discussed earlier, nothing they were able to carry were capable of denting the missile silos. After some time they went feet dry over the mainland. The sandy eastern beaches rapidly changed into grassland which then gradually turned into mountain hell. At the edge of Blaze's tactical map, six signatures appeared. Friendly ones. The bombers had made it to the meetup point before the fighters had.

'Silex 1, Razgriz 1, coming up on your six.' Blaze called out to the lead bomber.

'_Welcome to the long haul. Make yourselves comfortable.' _The lead bomber, Silex 1, called out in kind. The LRSSG fell in to protect the six bombers. About halfway through the trip when the combined force was just past the Waiapolo Mountains, Blaze heard the tone of a closed radio connection coming to him. He accepted the call.

'_Captain?' _It was Grimm who had made the call.

'Hmm?'

'_Do you think Chopper could have survived that crash over November City?' _

Blaze grit his teeth in discomfort. He didn't want to talk about it.

'I'm no doctor, but I'm a hundred percent certain that no human can survive a terminal velocity fall in a burning Tomcat from two thousand feet.'

'_So how-'_

'I don't know.' Blaze knew what Grimm was referring to. 'Black magic, adaptive AI, I don't have a fucking clue.'

'_There's gotta be some reason how.'_

'I'll find an answer. Until then, focus on the mission.' Blaze also didn't want to talk about it.

Combined, the three squadrons pressed forward. At cruising speed they reached the area after an hour and a half of continuous travel. As they reached the corner of the AO, Blaze started to understand what the fuss about weather had meant. The entire area was blanketed by storm clouds.

'Entering the AO. Weather's heavy. Silex, can your GPS system account for weather?' Blaze asked, looking back at the bombers.

'_If it can get through a hurricane, it can get through a thunderstorm.' _Sheep answered from the middle of the formation. Blaze took his word as the truth and pressed forward.

'_Alright, listen up. Erusea has planted some fake silos to throw the bombers off. They're difficult to tell apart from a distance.' _Long Caster reported on the situation on the ground. It made sense. With a small amount of missiles, decoys were a good way to hide their true stockpile.

'_Oh, this just got interesting.' _Count commented.

'Mission stays the same. Strider, ward off enemy fighters. Grimm, time to get wet.' Blaze ordered, giving more thrust to his engines and pushing the stick forward to drop altitude.

'_Copy, commander.' _Trigger received the orders and dropped at a shallow angle with Count in tow, putting himself above the cloud layer.

'_Let's go.' _Grimm followed Blaze all the way to the floor, afterburners lit. Blaze shot through the cloud layer at a 50-degree angle. When he could see the floor he had to rapidly pull up to avoid the mountains and valleys. The cloud layer was only a couple of hundred metres above the floor. Successfully recovering, Blaze placed his aircraft as close to the floor as safely possible and moved north-east towards the closest supposed missile silo. He had a LITENING targeting pod and a IRST pod under the nose. He used the IRST pod in visual light mode to observe the rapidly closing missile silo. The verdict was easy to make from the angle he was approaching at. A live silo.

'Silo 1 is a target. Silex, clear to engage.' Blaze cleared the bombers above to drop on the silo. As he passed over the top of Silo 1, he noticed green tracers coming up from the ground. There was a fixed AAA gun firing at him. The HE shells all passed safely in between him and Grimm without hitting either of them. _They're alerted, _Blaze thought. Which meant that a fighter intercept was likely to follow. Blaze kept going north-east. Much like the radar sites back at the Waiapolo Mountains, the missile silos were roughly organised in an oval around the AO. Grimm was smart enough to turn in the other direction to ID the silos from the other side which would make their job a lot quicker. Blaze flew over the trees and valleys. A fair distance in front of him were a pair of Harriers. VTOL jump jets, the predecessor to the F-35B. Blaze grit his teeth and readied the Sidewinders sitting on his wingtip rails. There was no need for that. Blaze saw missiles shoot through the cloud layer heading for the two Harriers. The two missiles connected with their respective targets and blew both VTOLs out of the air. An F-15C briefly became visible under the cloud layer before climbing back up. Count had his back covered.

In the cockpit, Sheep was using a targeting computer to lock the GPS coordinates of the first target. Captain Kelly brought the _Spirit of Mackinson _around for a bombing run. Once they were in position and the coordinates were locked, Sheep gave the order for Kelly to hit the button to open the bomb bay doors and drop one of two MOPs. The massive 14-ton bomb quickly gained speed as it fell from a significant height, its fins pointing it in the direction of the silo. By the time it hit the ground it was doing just under the speed of sound at 1,100 kilometres per hour. The bomb hit the silo dead on, broke clean through the thick concrete and metal silo door and went straight down the centreline of the S3 ICBM, completely destroying it, before breaking through the floor of the bottom of the silo and detonating with it's own warhead. The result was a colossal explosion that ripped apart everything inside before venting the brute force of the detonation out of where the silo door would have been in a spectacular flash of white and orange. Smoke started filling the air.

Meanwhile, Grimm was closing on Silo 8. This one was situated in between two hills with minimal infrastructure surrounding it. A Tunguska SPAAG-M air-defence vehicle was protecting it. The gun and missile-armed APC fired a pair of missiles at the approaching Typhoon. Grimm saw the flashes of a missile launch and climbed up to evade them. Laser-guided, the missiles lost their target when Grimm flew into the clouds. Like Blaze he also carried a LITENING targeting pod. He used this in IR mode to see through the clouds and see a black and white image of the ground below. He could see the silo. However, this silo was flush to the ground and wasn't as clear and definite as a proper silo would have been. This one was painted.

'Silo 8 is fake, moving to 7.' Grimm reported, moving away and moving to the next.

The engines of Blaze's Su-33M3 roared as he shot over the ground at extremely high speeds. Mobile air-defence units on the ground were firing their Strela MANPADS at the overhead Flanker. Blaze moved too fast for them to catch up and hit. At the speed that he was going, Blaze arrived within visual range of Silo 2 twenty or so seconds after designating the first one. He quickly checked the IRST's imaging.

'Silex, clear to engage Silo 2.' Blaze reported to the bombers, moving onto Silo 3. Silex 4, flying _Spirit of Heirelark, _locked in Silo 2's coordinates and dropped a MOP on it. The results on Silo 2 were the same as on Silo 1. The MOP easily penetrated the silo door and destroyed everything inside in a brilliant flash of light and smoke.

In the skies above the cloud layer, Trigger and Count were waiting to pounce on any opportunistic Erusean fighters. They didn't have to wait long. On radar, four fighters appeared coming from the north. Typhoon F.1s, the original air-to-air version. The two Strider Squadron members changed course to engage. Trigger took the first shot with a passively-guided AMRAAM at a range of forty kilometres so that it wouldn't alert their radar warning receivers until it was too late. Count did the same with his own AMRAAMs. Both missiles closed in on the Typhoon formation. Five kilometres to the target, the pair activated the seeker warheads on the two missiles. The two locked on the centre two Typhoons. Trigger saw twin explosions from his position. It was now a 2 on 2 engagement. As before Trigger took the lead, engaging the Typhoon closest to his left. He fired a Sidewinder from headon. It missed as the Typhoon dived and twisted to evade. Exhaling, Trigger dived down after the Typhoon. Despite the Erusean aircraft's maneuverability advantage over the Strike Eagle, Trigger managed to keep it ahead of his nose while trying to score hits with his cannon. After two missed bursts, he managed to clip one of the canards clean off, crippling its stability somewhat. With the Erusean pilot now struggling to keep the aircraft stable, Trigger took a cheap shot with a Sidewinder. The flare capsules on the back of the aircraft didn't save him. The Sidewinder hit the Typhoon directly and made it explode mid-air. Three down. Trigger looked over towards Count. The latter shot down his target as Trigger spotted the two in his peripheral vision. All four fighters were destroyed. Trigger gave himself a high five.

Grimm shot over Silo 7. He didn't have to use his targeting pods to know that this one was a fake.

'7 is a fake, moving to 6.' He announced over the radio. Silos 7 and 6 were in close proximity to each other. Grimm passed over a mountain separating the two, evading SAM fire as he did so. Grimm got eyes on Silo 6 with his targeting pod. This one was real, and its silo door was open. _Uh-oh, _Grimm said to himself.

'Silo 6 urgent launch!' He called on the radio the moment he saw the exposed tip of the missile in the silo. Luck was on his side for this one. Silex 2, flying the bomber _Spirit of Bana, _was on a launch approach when Grimm called out Silo 6. As such, a MOP was shortly launched from the B-2's integral bomb bays towards the ground floor. Without the silo door taking the brunt of the impact, this MOP bisected the ICBM sitting in the silo and imbedded itself several metres into the concrete floor before exploding, throwing the remnants of the ICBM out of the silo and breaking down whatever remained. A very close call.

Not close enough.

Blaze was flying over a body of water when his IRST pod started alerting him to an abnormal level of heat directly below him.

'Wha-' Blaze began to speak but was cut off by a tubular-looking thing shooting out of the water with a booster ignited below it. An ICBM. An ignited one. Blaze didn't have time to announce the launch. The ICBM rapidly started to climb; faster than his Su-33 could go in a vertical climb. Thinking quickly on the spot, Blaze popped a Cobra so his nose was pointing up towards the booster stage of the ICBM and fired two AMRAAMs at it. Smaller and lighter, the two missiles shot upwards to catch up with the ICBM. The first detonated before it could collide with the ICBM, destroyed by the shear heat, but the second impacted with the booster stage and detonated. This explosion ripped off most of the engine nozzles of the booster stage which induced instability which flipped the ICBM over which ended up tearing it apart. Fuel and metal spread out over a large area which then caught fire, completely destroying anything that had remained of the missile.

'_ICBM launch detected! It's rapidly accelerating!' _Long Caster called out. The last ICBM had been launched, and unlike the first launch Blaze was nowhere near close enough to intercept it. That left Trigger and Count to make a local intercept.

Trigger saw the missile and went after it. He went into a shallow dive pointed towards the ICBM and fired four AMRAAMs, each at varying pitches to increase the chances of a hit. The first three missed, all flying underneath the quickly-moving ICBM. The fourth scored a hit, impacting directly on the tip of the missile where the warhead was located. This had consequences. The ICBM was thrown off target and started to disintegrate as G-forces tore apart the structure, but then the warhead detonated in a massive fireball. A nuclear detonation. There was an extremely bright flash as the air around the detonation turned into highly energised plasma. The explosion turned out to be small compared to what most people would have expected, but Trigger physically felt the shockwave as it passed through the air at supersonic speeds. His F-15E shook for a few seconds before settling.

'_Was that a nuke?' _Count asked. He had no experience with nuclear weapons.

'_Yep. And it's a good thing that Trigger got it. Christ knows what sort of damage that would have done to the Army garrisons.' _Long Caster answered. Blaze and Grimm joined on Strider Squadron followed shortly by Silex Squadron. Blaze took the lead.

'Long Caster, what's the radioactivity prediction on that detonation?' Blaze asked. Radiation was always a pain in the ass.

'_The airstream should push it out into the ocean. There's nothing but mountains all that way.' _Long Caster replied. Blaze released a sigh of relief. Neither side would have liked more civilian casualties than there had already been in the war.

'Roger. LRSSG, Silex, mission complete, return to base.' Blaze ordered. The ten aircraft all turned south-east and headed back for their bases.

* * *

**Orca Forward Air Base, Usea**

While Blaze, Grimm, Trigger and Count were on the way back to base, 1st Lieutenant Sara Hunter found herself in the gym giving everything she had to beat the shit out of a punching punches were quick, hit hard and were vicious overall. Sweat ran down her brow. She went for a rapid combo of straight punches at abdomen level. The force she put into the bag ended up knocking the bag off its hook and sending it flying to the floor. Sara was breathing heavily. She put her ungloved hands by her side.

'Keep punching that thing and we might end up needing another bag.' A woman said from somewhere behind Sara. She turned around. Huxian was standing nearby, leaning against a metal support beam. Sara shook her head in amusement.

'Need to get practise in somehow.' Sara retorted. Huxian chuckled and took steps toward the younger lieutenant. Once she was within arm's reach, Huxian suddenly released a right hook at Sara. The latter reacted extremely quickly. Sara blocked the blow with her left forearm and moving as quick as a rattlesnake swept Huxian's legs out from under her with a kick. As quickly as it had happened, Sara suddenly had Huxian restrained on the ground. Huxian looked around herself in confusion for a second. She didn't believe how quickly Sara had knocked her down. Sara stood up and helped Huxian to her feet. The latter brushed herself off.

'Point taken.' She said, trying to suppress laughter from what had just happened.

* * *

Elsewhere on the base, in the mess hall, Commander Marcus Snow was eating the contents of an MRE pack; meatballs in marinara sauce with a bottle of water. He was the only person in the room save for the support personnel. That changed a minute later when Wiseman entered the mess hall looking for something to eat. He grabbed a pack from the box at the front of the room, a bottle of water and turned for a table which was when he saw the naval aviator sitting there. Wiseman walked over to Snow.

'The newest member of the team.' He greeted the commander.

'That's me.' Snow returned the greeting. 'So, how'd the scramble go?'

'Mission success, if by a close margin. Strider and Razgriz are returning to base as we speak.' Wiseman answered, opening his MRE pack. Shredded barbeque beef, Snow deducted by the writing on the package.

'Close margin? Did the Eruseans launch?'

'Two missiles. Nuclear armed. Your squad lead is a good pilot.'

'Well, that's an understatement.' Snow ate a meatball in one bite. The two ate in silence for 30 seconds before the silence was broken by Wiseman.

'So, you're a commander in the naval reserves. How did you get into all this mess?' Wiseman was asking about how Snow had gotten here.

'Okay, so I came back from a week-long dive in the Pacific. I get home, and I've got 80 or so missed calls from the Department of Defence. Apparently a war broke out while I was at sea and three quarters of our carrier fleet was put out of service. I get called in as a CAG on the old carrier _Hubert _and sent out to the Spring Sea. Do a bunch of intercepts, and then join the fleet assault on Farbanti. Problem is, our carriers were either destroyed or dispersed. From there me and Alex found our way to an ISAF base and then back to Osean territory. I got put on as air wing commander of Task Force Outcome. We were at Stonehenge before Dragon's Breath. After that, I joined you guys.' Snow explained. It was a long story. Wiseman nodded when Snow was finished.

'Salvage diver?' Wiseman asked.

'Yeah. Diving's always been a hobby of mine.'

'Fair enough. You served in the Circum-Pacific War?'

'Belkan War and Circum-Pacific War. Served on the old _Kestrel.' _

'How old are you?'

'43.'

'Oh jeez. You started young.'

'That I did.' Snow took a second to call back to his old service. 'That I did.'


	49. Chapter 47 - Unexpected Visitor

'Helm, up bubble 5 degrees, bring us to periscope depth.' In a pressurised metal tube under the tropical ocean surface, a submarine captain ordered his helmsman to change the depth of the sub. They were currently a scarce twelve kilometres off the southern coast of the Usean continent. More specifically, they were just south of Artigilo Port, a place that had been carpet-bombed to the floor some months prior by a particular penal squadron.

OFS _Diana's _periscope breached the surface of the water, the main body of the sub some 30 feet underneath the water. The captain of the _Diana _pointed the periscope towards the port, looking for something. They had been given a target. They were to report their findings back to command. Considering the scale of the target, it didn't take long for the captain to spot it.

At 11:30AM local time, the OFS _Diana _transmitted a message and photographs via VLF transmission to an Osean satellite waiting in high earth orbit. This message was tagged as top secret and would not leave a log in any record book. It was sent directly to the echelons of Osean High Command. The crew of the _Diana _would deny that this message was sent or that the mission it was based on ever happened. There were three photographs, all depicting a harbour with a massive vessel docked inside.

* * *

In the central command centre of the Osean Defence Forces, a panel of high-ranking officers were sitting around a large table in an isolated room with the mentioned photos displayed on projectors. These flag officers all came from a mix of all three services; generals from the Army and Air Force and admirals from the Navy.

'General Shepherd, if I may interject, this plan doesn't sound like a good idea for our war strategy.' At the table sat Vice Admiral Tahir Logan; former commanding officer of the OFS _Vulture II. _He had an extra star on his shoulder to signify his recent promotion.

'And _why _do you think this, Admiral?' The lead man of the table, the Chief of Air Force, asked the vice admiral.

'Our top aces are the very people who have defended this nation in times of need. You're suggesting throwing a hundred extremely skilled pilots into the blender.' Logan defended his reasoning.

'Have you not heeded the lessons of the Belkan War? Those aces could very well end up against us in the future.' Shepherd brought up a counter to Logan's reasoning. The latter sighed in defeat and conceded.

'I agree with Admiral Logan's pleads. Throwing all of our aces at a hard target at this stage in the war could end up giving us a disadvantage.' One of the other admirals in the room, Vice Admiral David Keeson, defended Logan.

'Are you saying that we should abandon this plan?' An Army general asked.

'No, I'm saying that we should throw away a couple of aces at a time so we don't completely exhaust our supply before the war ends.' Keeson retorted. General Shepherd seemed to understand where Keeson was coming from.

'Hmm. I admit, you two sailors have a point. We'll test our plan with a small number of pilots. General Clemens, who are the closest to the _Alicorn?_' Shepherd asked an Air Force general, Brigadier Howard Clemens.

'The LRSSG. Four aces on the list. Captain Kovac, Captain Gregor, Major Grimm and Commander Snow.'

'Should be five.' Logan muttered to himself, quiet enough so that no-one heard it.

'Give them the order.' Shepherd ordered the brigadier.

'Yes sir.' Clemens acknowledged and stood up to leave the room.

'Table adjourned. As you were.' Shepherd dismissed the table.

* * *

**September 3, 2019**

**Orca Forward Air Base, Usea**

'Brigadier-General Howard Clemens. Hey captain, why does that name sound familiar?' Grimm asked Alex when he heard about the flag officer coming to meet the LRSSG.

'He was Heirelark's base adjutant back in 2010. Looks like he made flag rank since then.' Alex answered the question.

'Guy's a nasty son of a bitch.' Count remarked. Most of the LRSSG pilots were sitting around in the crew room doing nothing in particular.

'You've met him?' Jaeger asked. Count nodded.

'He was an instructor at instructor school a couple of years back.'

'The fact that you used to be a flight instructor worries me, Count.' Trigger commented jokingly. 'Anyway, what's the deal? Far as I know, we don't warrant a flag visit.'

'Wiseman will tell us whenever he gets out of the comms room.' Alex said. Right on mark with him saying that, the man himself entered the room. He didn't seem particularly happy.

'Oh, this is gonna be fun.' Wiseman said to himself as he approached the rest of his squadron.

'If by fun you mean a pain in the ass, then yeah you'd be right.' Alex stretched in his chair. 'What's the mission?'

'A wild goose hunt. We're being assigned to a task force to capture some sort of Erusean superweapon. The general will have more details ready for when he gets here.' Wiseman answered, taking a seat at a wooden table.

'Didn't we destroy most of Erusea's superweapons?' Lanza asked. The LRSSG and its predecessor, the DSRU, had been responsible for taking down many of Erusea's big and scary weapons. Surely they were running short.

'Well, the Eruseans still have an Arsenal Bird running wild.' Huxian suggested.

'I don't think that'd be it. Short of a nuke, we have no way of destroying it.' Snow counter-suggested. 'Didn't they pick up some old Yuktobanian super-sub a while back?'

'They did, but it went missing during refit trials at sea.' Fencer recalled.

'Hmm. Either way, I guess we'll find out come tomorrow.' Wiseman said. There was universal nodding around the room.

* * *

**The following day**

Most of the LRSSG was assembled in the briefing room. One was missing; Fencer. Not surprising, since the poor bastard had cracked his sternum after falling over into a metal table. The doctors hadn't cleared him for flight operations.

'So who's the important guy in the suit?' Huxian asked sarcastically while everyone was waiting for the briefing to begin.

'Some crazy old instructor from the stone age-' Count began to answer as sarcastically as Huxian had started, but he was rapidly cut off.

'How much longer are you going to make me wait, Captain?' The general at the front of the room asked to cancel out the conversation. He sounded annoyed and impatient. Count backed down silently and waited for the general to start. 'Mr North, are we ready?' He asked, seemly to himself.

'_Connected and ready._' A voice that sounded like it was going through a radio filter answered. On the screen at the front of the room, a small box came up with a portrait of a person. Glasses, heavily built frame and heavily tanned skin. The general sighed, straightened up some and looked at the pilots assembled in the room.

'I'm Brigadier-General Howard Clemens. I'm in charge of this operation. The objective of this operation is to capture an advanced submarine docked at the harbour in Artigilo Port, which was previously fire-bombed to the floor by a previous operation.' Clemens began. Trigger, Count and Alex all exchanged glances. They had been the people who led the operation that had seen Artigilo all but wiped off the map. Clemens continued. 'However, Erusean forces have repaired the port facilities and are using them to resupply and maintain the aforementioned advanced submarine.'

'_Here's a question.' _The man on the speakers, Mr North, posed a question. '_How long do you think this submarine is?' _

'Two hundred.' Trigger guessed.

'Three fifty.' Alex guessed shortly after.

'_Close. The answer is 495 metres. It's also 116 metres wide, and submerged displaces 810,000 tons.' _Mr North corrected the two pilots. Alex looked over to Snow, who was directly right of him in the adjacent seat.

'So about Yuke super-subs…' Alex quietly remarked while Mr North continued with the submarine's specifications.

'_It's a super-sized nuclear submarine powered by two liquid-metal cooled reactors.'_

'Big motherfucker. So who's the quiz show host?' Huxian asked.

'_David North. I'm an OIA agent. My speciality is in advanced technology analysis.' _David North replied.

'Why aren't you here?' Huxian asked a second question. The people that worked for the Osean Intelligence Agency historically always worked from the front lines.

'_I don't need to be. I can do my job from my office. Besides, I've got other projects I need to head up back at home.' _David answered. Alex grinned faintly. Any spook given a number of things to work on was a good spook in his opinion. '_Anyway, this super-submarine is called the Alicorn. It's a submarine. But it can stage aircraft operations like a carrier.'_

'Woah, woah,' Alex cut off David for a second so he could interject. 'Are you saying this is a _Scinfaxi_-class sub?'

'_Not quite. Alicorn is in a class of its own. It's force projection capabilities are equivalent to an Osean carrier battle group, and it has some mean firepower. Twin railguns for example, with a range of 400 kilometres.' _

'Jesus.' Alex muttered. He had fought three _Scinfaxi_-class super subs, and the worst they could throw at him were a few VTOLs and some fancy burst missiles.

'So where has this thing been anyway? Sounds like a monster if there ever was one.' Lanza asked a question, one that was currently sitting on everyone's minds. _Alicorn _was indeed a monster. Why hadn't it been fielded against Osea?

'_She's only recently been recommissioned. Alicorn spent two years stuck on the ocean floor angled at 15 degrees, losing 30 of her crew of 360 in the process.'_

'Oh, that makes sense. So what, we just blow up the damn thing?' Lanza speculated.

'We _capture _it. Don't make me repeat myself.' Clemens sharply interjected. 'We've had reports from internal sources that there are weapons of mass destruction onboard the _Alicorn. _If we can secure those weapons, we'll gain advantage in post-war peace negotiations.'

'Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.' Grimm mused. Nuclear weapons? Fun.

'The Osean Navy has deployed an amphibious warfare group to capture the _Alicorn._ Our mission is to secure air superiority over the AO and protect the task force.' Wiseman took over from Clemens to give the actual mission objective.

'They'll scuttle the submarine if we take too long. To make sure that doesn't happen, you'll be taking air superiority while the fleet goes into action.' Clemens took over from Wiseman to say an additional few words.

'Sir, wouldn't that be risking the-' Grimm began to say.

'That is none of your concern.' Clemens cut him off, disinterested. Grimm sat back and sighed in annoyance.

'So we're risking our fleet for political games.' Huxian kept going where Grimm had stopped. Clemens shot an icy glance at Huxian. Huxian stared back, undeterred.

'They should have taught how to address superiors in boot camp.' Clemens finally said after a tense few seconds.

'An EW squadron will be deployed.' Wiseman broke the tension. 'Their electronics should prove handy. They'll arrive the same time as you.'

'Only Strider Squadron will sortie.' Clemens spoke out loud. Everyone looked at him in horror.

'Woah, we have to sit this one out?' Lanza complained in Cyclops Squadron's sake.

'That's a dumb fucking idea only having one squadron-' Alex complained for Razgriz.

'Commander Williams, do I need to have you reprimanded for insulting a flag officer?' Clemens quickly shut down Razgriz's squad leader. He seemed to ponder the thought of something for a second. 'Actually, on second thought. Razgriz and Strider, you'll both be deploying.'

Alex released a sigh of relief. 'Thank you sir. I apologise.'

'If that's all, dismissed.' Clemens dismissed the briefing and left the room. Everyone else started to leave. Alex stood up as if to leave, but went nowhere. Once the room was empty, he spoke.

'David, you still there?' He asked.

'_I am, commander. What do you need?' _David's voice rang out.

'This… _Alicorn. _What sort of history does she have?'

* * *

_AIRCRAFT _

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Razgriz 3/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 4/Mythic: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Jaeger: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Huxian: F-15C Eagle_

The pilots of Strider and Razgriz were reviewing a map in the crew ready room. It showed the local topography of the Artigilo region, ocean and all. Alex was annotating the map, marker pen in hand.

'Expect surface-to-ship batteries on the coastline here and here,' Alex drew two straight lines that flanked the main port where the _Alicorn _was supposed to be. 'There's an airfield out to the west housing first-response interceptors, with inland bases providing a stronger response.'

'Place will probably be covered by an anti-air umbrella. The sub's close-in defences are good but I doubt they'll rely on them.' Jaeger suggested. Leaving a major asset so close to the Osean front lines unprotected was a bad idea in any situation.

'Concur.' Trigger agreed. 'I can carry HARMs and SBDs as a side dish on the Strike Eagle.'

'Grimm, load up with some air-to-ground. We'll carry some as well.' Alex ordered Grimm, who nodded in acknowledgement.

'What about the ships?' Snow, the only actual sailor in the group, asked. The amphibious ready group would obviously be bringing their own baggage as well.

'_Puffin, Flycatcher, Babbler, Hamerkop, Kite, Night Jar _and _Parrotbill. _A landing platform ship, two Tico cruisers and four Burke destroyers. That's a lot of all-around firepower packed into one task force.' Count remembered the composition of the task force and summarised its firepower. Of the seven ships, only one didn't have the AEGIS intercept system.

'Alright.' Alex looked over the map to make sure he didn't miss anything. 'We're coming from the south and our primary objective is to protect the fleet. We'll be putting ourselves between the Eruseans and the task force. Drake Squadron will catch anyone that slips through, while Enchanter provides EW support. Strider, you'll cover the eastern flank. Razgriz, we've got the west. Understood?'

'Transparently.' Trigger confirmed.

'Ack.' Snow also confirmed.

'Outstanding. Let's get out there and kick some ass.'

The LRSSG went out to their aircraft. Despite the weather being absolutely miserable with rain pouring down on the base, they were still cleared to taxi and get into the skies. Alex led the formation in his venerable Su-33M3. The others were right behind him.

'_Razgriz, launch. Strider, cleared for flight operations.' _The tower waved them off as they made it to the runway. Alex kicked his engines into full thrust, felt his Flanker gain speed until he pulled up on the stick and the aircraft entered the skies. A Tomcat, two Typhoons and four Eagles were following shortly behind. They didn't have to travel exceptionally far. Artigilo was close enough that they didn't have to carry external fuel tanks with them.

'Puffin Actual, this is Razgriz Leader. Checking in.' Alex called through the satellite radio network that was connecting his squadron with the navy's task force.

'_Reading you loud and clear, Razgriz. We're leaving Seal's Bridge now, should be there in half an hour.' _The commanding officer of the OFS _Puffin, _Captain Robin Airey, acknowledged.

'Roger that, we'll be with you at H-hour.' Alex said. Seal's Bridge was a naval base on the south-east tip of the Usean mainland. It was administered by Triomph, a country allied to Osea.

'_Good to hear. We'll be in touch.' _

The LRSSG pressed forward. The weather rapidly cleared up as they left the Rocky Island region and flew over the allied territory underneath them. The trip, as was the case for most of their operations, was uneventful as it was boring. Alex took the chance to appreciate the landscape under him as they travelled. He stopped doing that when they crossed over water again. Alex tugged on his sleeves and put them around his elbows, revealing the old burn scars and tattoos on his forearms. He always preferred fire over water.

'Puffin Actual, Razgriz Leader, entering your airspace.' Blaze announced to the landing ship when Razgriz and Strider actually entered the AO. _Puffin _and her task force were at the southern-most part of the area, roughly twenty kilometres away from the beachhead.

'_Welcome to the party. We've already been engaged by surface-based anti-ship missiles, so make yourself comfortable and start intercepting.' _Captain Airey ordered.

'_Wait, where the hell are the other squadrons?' _Count asked. He had a point. Drake and Enchanter Squadrons were nowhere to be seen. Even though they were meant to be arriving on H-hour like the LRSSG had.

'_There's been a delay. Enchanter and Drake will enter the AO in five minutes.' _All the way back at their base, Clemens reported the situation. Blaze groaned in annoyance. Their job was about to get harder than it should have been.

'Strider, change of plan. There's no fall-back if anyone gets through.' Blaze adjusted accordingly, all the while putting his engines into full afterburner and shooting off towards the enemy F-15Js that were approaching the fleet. 'Razgriz, engage.'

The first person on the Osean side to get a shot off was Mythic. She fired an AMRAAM at the leader of the first F-15J squadron. The leader noticed and evaded, unsuccessfully. The missile slammed straight into the engine compartment of the foreign Eagle, blowing off its rear end and forcing the pilot to eject. Blaze, Snow and Grimm all followed with their own missile launches at the other three F-15s in that squad. Like their own fourth squad member, all three AMRAAMs hit and destroyed the targets on the other side. The first enemy squadron was gone. But there were many more in the skies and ready to engage the Oseans. Blaze's tracking radar registered at least two dozen enemy fighters of all kinds. F-15Js, MiG-29s, Su-37s, even a small squadron of F-4Es.

'Jesus, they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for this sub.' Blaze mused. He hadn't seen or heard of Phantoms being utilised in any recent war. Regardless of technological standing, he went on to engage the F-4Es first. They were the most pressing threat to the surface fleet. His Su-33M3 was much more maneuverable than the decades-old Phantoms and Blaze easily stuck onto the tails of the F-4Es. He noticed they were equipped solely with air to air weapons. The poor bastards were being pressed into air combat. Alex loosed off four Sidewinders at close range at the Phantoms that were trying to get away. At the range he had taken the shot none of the F-4s could have evaded. All four were hit and went death-spiralling into the tropical waters. No ejections. Blaze whipped around and went looking for another target, which he found in a lone Su-37 trying to challenge him. It came at him, guns blazing. Blaze evaded the 23mm cannon shells and let the pilot of the Su-37 overshoot him. Once that happened, Blaze became the attacker and started chasing the infamously maneuverable Terminator. Luck proved to be on the Osean pilot's side for his Su-33 was at Su-37 standards and the pilot of the Su-37 wasn't exceptionally skilled. The Su-37 pilot jinked in every direction to evade Blaze. He even tried slamming on the brakes to shoot past the Su-33M3 chasing him. Blaze denied the maneuver by doing the same so that the Su-37 was still in front of him and with no kinetic energy left to evade a well-placed cannon burst. The resulting 23mm shells shredded apart the Terminator. It burst into flames and exploded, leaving behind no survivors.

While Blaze was on a goose-chase with F-4s and Su-37s, Grimm and Snow were flying right into the air-defence net established around the _Alicorn. _As the pair approached, Grimm noticed the sheer scale of the submarine docked in the port. It was even bigger than the _Scinfaxi _and _Hrimfaxi_, with jet-black paint covering the entire thing. The damn thing even had a full-length runway unlike the two super-subs that had come before it. Those two only had a VTOL pad and UAV bays.

'_Big son of a bitch. Grimm, time to hammer those SAM sites!' _Snow remarked on the size of the _Alicorn _while indicating for Grimm to use the Hellfire ATGMs that he had on the pylons of his Typhoon. Grimm complied and quickly released a salvo of eight of the anti-tank missiles at the various targeting radars and missile trucks on the ground. The first salvo was focused on taking out the short-range SAMs that would threaten helicopters launched from the _Puffin. _The engines on the back of the Hellfires kicked in as they were released from the rails and thrown towards the various close-in air defence vehicles. Snow's F-14D and Grimm's Typhoon roared overhead doing just under the speed of sound. Behind them, there were flashes followed by smoke, sand and dust erupting from the ground. Eight air-defence batteries and vehicles had been turned into scrap by the Hellfires. The two aircraft got a few kilometres inland before turning around and coming in for another run. This time Grimm was aiming for the surface-to-surface missile trucks that would be threatening the task force. There were a couple of black smoke trails leading up into the sky from where some of the missile trucks were meant to be. The destroyers and cruisers had fired back and hit a couple evidently. Grimm set six Hellfires to autolock on the remaining vehicles. They tracked the targets. Grimm fired and the missiles came off the rails heading for the trucks. Much like the SAMs and AAA batteries not even a minute ago, the SSM trucks were all hit and turned into slag by blast fragmentation warheads. A couple of the trucks went up in massive explosions, the warheads contained by their missiles detonating on contact with the Hellfires. Their actions didn't go unnoticed. A squadron of MiG-29s were now on their tails. Snow went upwards, using the power of his Tomcat's engines to get a speed and altitude advantage, while Grimm broke to the right using the superior maneuverability of his Typhoon to get around the Fulcrums.

'Surface-to-surface batteries have been destroyed.' Grimm reported while pulling a 7G turn around the Fulcrums that were trying to get missile shots off at him. They all missed and after some precise turning Grimm was now the attacker. A much better pilot, Grimm quickly shot down the first Fulcrum that had been chasing him with a well-placed cannon burst. The second didn't get much further than the first, this one hit up the tailpipe by a Sidewinder and hit in the cockpit region by a particular Osean F-14 pilot. Both missiles made sure that the Fulcrum was completely fragmented and destroyed.

'_New radar contacts, straight from the north. MiG-31s and Su-34s. Take down those Fullbacks before they can target the fleet!' _Long Caster reported new Erusean fighters coming to reinforce the air stations there. Flying around chasing after F-15s, Mythic quickly checked her radar display and sighed. She took out an engine on one of the F-15 squad leaders and broke off to intercept the fighter-bombers before they approached the task force. Su-34s were very good anti-ship missile carriers. They were a decent while inland, but still within range of Mythic's AMRAAMs. She fired a salvo of four at the approaching the Fullbacks on a passive setting so they wouldn't be detected instantly. The AMRAAMs quickly flew in, approaching the area where she had fired them. Once they did, Mythic activated their seekers. The Su-34 was a maneuverable fighter-bomber by comparison to the F-15E or F-16V, but not maneuverable enough to evade AAMs at close-range. And unlike their cousin fighter-bombers, Su-34s couldn't absorb direct missile hits. The four AMRAAMs all hit their targets, and in a single large swipe a primary threat to the task force had been taken out. However, Mythic hadn't gone unnoticed. The MiG-31 Foxhounds that were entering the AO went on a bearing heading straight for her. Assuming that there were missiles in the air coming for her, Mythic pulled straight up and climbed. The three Foxhounds - one was bugging out, Mythic guessed mechanical troubles - didn't miss a beat and climbed to follow her up. The leader of the formation locked onto Mythic's Typhoon. The RWR started blaring. Instead of going evasive, Mythic looked in the direction of the incoming Foxhounds and popped off a Sidewinder. The small IR-guided missile traced the heat coming from the giant engines of the interceptor and rushed off to hit it. The lead pilot didn't see the missile coming, so it was a surprise to him when it slammed into the midsection of the Foxhound and gave him a violent shake. Big as the MiG-31 was, the Sidewinder didn't destroy it, but it did force him to drop and turn around while churning out flames and smoke. The other two Foxhounds continued the intercept. Mythic gave the other two a firm warning by firing another two Sidewinders. Unlike their squad leader, the two Foxhounds assumed missiles were coming their way and varied up their flight maneuvers so they didn't take a dead-on hit. This worked for one of them, but not the other, and unlike their leader this missile hit the third man in the flight near the cockpit, killing the pilot and forcing the aircraft out of the fight. Mythic straightened out her flight path but was forced to dive again when the remaining Foxhound fired one of its own missiles at her. The thicker long ranged R-33E missile of the MiG-31 shot overhead and detonated on a proximity fuze. Mythic was luck, only the first few fragments of the missile and warhead doing any sort of damage. She heard an audible sparking noise distincitive of metal on metal contact.

'Shit.' Mythic cursed, using a fourth Sidewinder to lash back at the attacking MiG-31. This time the missile hit, catching the MiG-31 in the belly as they passed each other. The Sidewinder didn't destroy the aircraft completely, but it did cause some significant damage. No longer combat-capable, the MiG-31 turned around for its home base before Mythic could come around and finish it off, and shot off into the distance with smoke trailing. Herself damaged, Mythic looked over her shoulder to check what had happened. She couldn't see anything. Waving it off, she went back into the fray.

Meanwhile on the eastern flank of the battlefield, Trigger was tearing apart the Eruseans limb from limb. He moved from aircraft to aircraft, destroying anyone who was stupid enough to get in his way with close-range AMRAAM shots and mulching apart every Harrier equipped with bombs that he could find. He did all of this while carrying air-to-ground weapons in addition to the AMRAAMs and Sidewinders he already did carry. The F-15E was a beast at carrying weapons, and Trigger knew how to fly the F-15E very well.

'_Support is here. Drake and Enchanter, make yourselves useful.' _Long Caster reported the arrival of the two squadrons who were meant to be there five minutes ago.

_ADDITIONAL AIRCRAFT_

_Drake 1/Kraken: F/A-18F Super Hornet_

_Drake 2-4: F/A-18F Super Hornet_

_Enchanter 1/Phantom: E/A-18G Growler_

_Enchanter 2-4: E/A-18G Growler_

'_Apologies for the late arrival. The catapults on the carrier broke down.' _Lieutenant-Commander Alan 'Phantom' Eastfield, the squad leader for Enchanter Squadron, reported. Trigger sighed. _All four? _He asked himself.

'_Welcome to the party. Drake, put yourselves in front of the task force and catch anything that slips through. Enchanter, start jamming radio signals.' _Blaze quickly gave tasks to the newly-arrived squadrons. Trigger came around for another attack run on a group of Harriers coming after the task force. He loosed off a four-round salvo of AMRAAMs at the fighters. Being earlier ground attack versions, three of the four aircraft were destroyed by the first salvo. Trigger shot over the remaining Harrier, unable to fire a missile to hit the fourth in time. That was what the Eagle behind him was for. Jaeger fired one of his own Sidewinders at the fourth Harrier in the squad. This time the Harrier went down in a ball of flame.

'Long Caster, Strider 1, requesting bogey dope.' Trigger requested a drop of all targeting data for hostile aircraft in the region.

'_Strider 1, three Fullbacks, eight Fulcrums, four Felons, twelve Harriers, six Eagle-Js, four Rafale Ms.' _Long Caster reported back. A total of thirty-seven remaining aircraft in the area.

'Count, Huxian, get on those Fullbacks and Eagles. Jaeger, we've got the Harriers.' Trigger ordered. He and Jaeger went into a side-by-side formation to meet the quickly-approaching Harriers headon.

'_Rog.' _Huxian acknolwedged.

'_Will do.' _Count did the same. Trigger unleashed a six-shot salvo of AMRAAMs - all the long-range missiles he had left - and an extra pair of Sidewinders while Jaeger shot out four AMRAAMs of his own. The combined thrust of all the missiles created a giant smoke trail in the skies which made them easy to see. As a result, only seven of the twelve Harriers that the pair were after were hit and destroyed. The other five continued to press on, unfazed. Surprised that they were still sticking to a formation, Trigger dived in on them with his M61 cannon blazing. The 20mm shells found their way into the wing root of a Harrier, tearing off a wing and destroying it. He adjusted his fire to the right and killed the pilot of another Harrier. Jaeger scored a crippling hit with his own cannon on the leader of the formation, making one of them veer off an attacking path and back towards their base. The surviving two Harriers passed by the two defending Eagles. Neither went back for them. In Strider's place, the surviving attackers were met by a pair of AMRAAMs fired from the pylons of the Super Hornets of Drake Squadron. Both went down into the drink, nowhere near their intended target.

Meanwhile with the other half of Strider, Count and Huxian were chasing after the faster and more dangerous Fullbacks that could cause distress for the fleet. Before they could get to the Su-34s, there were two opposing F-15Js in the way. The Erusean F-15s fired at the Osean F-15s first. The two Oseans flew side-by-side with each other to create a single radar signature for the incoming Sparrow missiles. When they got close, Count and Huxian fired one each of their AMRAAMs at the opposing Eagles before splitting off and getting the Sparrows to fly in between each other. The maneuver worked, confusing the sensor warheads of the Sparrows and throwing them off target and out into the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, the Osean AMRAAMs were not confused by such tactics and hit their targets successfully, destroying both Eagles and leaving the supersonic Fullbacks exposed. Huxian fired an off-angle AMRAAM at the lead Fullback. The missile didn't turn fast enough before the Fullbacks shot past, ignoring the two. Count turned back, Huxian following closely behind, and put his engines into afterburner chasing after the Fullbacks. He popped off two AMRAAMs. The Fullbacks popped chaff and flares, throwing off one of the missiles, but it didn't do anything for the second missile which slammed into the back of the leader. The aircraft shuddered violently and started smoking before exploding mid-air. Count fired another AMRAAM at the second Fullback, sticking to him violently despite the two aircraft breaking off to evade the Eagles. Chaff and flares didn't save him this time, sending him to the afterlife as the AMRAAM destroyed the Su-34 like the rest. Count levelled out and looked for the third Fullback. No need. Huxian had already destroyed it by the time he had looked. The pair went back into formation and went looking for more targets.

'Jesus, there's a lot of them.' Count commented, referring to the massive amount of Erusean aircraft trying to oppose the Oseans.

'_You see Trigger complaining? Man up.' _Huxian rebuffed him.

'Yeah, yeah.' Count shook his head in amusement.

Flying around over the fleet, Phantom kept an eye on the battlefield while his support officer in the backseat of the Growler jammed any signals that were being transmitted from the port. Or at least what remained of it. There were some scattered supporting structures around the _Alicorn, _but anything else that used to be there was slag and concrete chunks.

'Transmission coming in from an unknown source. 'Two unknown air bogeys approaching.' In the backseat, Phantom's electronic warfare officer reported.

'Long Caster, the Eruseans have detected a pair of unidentified aircraft approaching the AO.' Phantom reported it directly to the AWACS.

'_We're seeing that as well. All fighters, two unknown aircraft approaching. Airframe type, Su-47!' _Long Caster reported this to the rest of the Osean forces.

Blaze checked his tactical display for the new bogeys.

'_Where the hell did they pick up Berkuts?' _Snow asked. The Eruseans only fielded Su-47s in very small numbers, and the squadrons that did have them were mostly used as interceptors around the capital.

'Trigger, those Berkuts are bee-lining straight for you.' Blaze pointed out something he noticed to Strider's leader. Having just made swiss cheese out of an Su-57, Blaze made speed to intercept the Su-47s before they made it to him.

'_I'll kill you, Three Strikes!' _Suddenly a deranged-sounding woman piped up on their radio frequency. Blaze didn't have to guess that the voice probably came from one of the pilots of the approaching Su-47s. What he did have to guess is how they had access to their encrypted radio frequency.

'Then you'll have to go through a demon first.' Blaze rebuffed the woman right as the two Berkets appeared within identification range. They had a strange paint job for aircraft; dazzle camo. An old scheme used for early 1920s fighters and warships to make it hard for an attacker to discern range. To make things even stranger, the two Su-47s also had low-vis Osean Air Force markings. They clearly weren't Osean. The lady had a Belkan accent. Blaze pressed onwards, putting himself between the Su-47s and Trigger. They seemingly ignored him. Blaze started tracking one and fired an AMRAAM at him. The missile went crazy as soon as it left the rail and shot off in a direction that he didn't fire it in. Blaze sighed in annoyance. He was going to have to do this with his cannon. When the leader of the two got within cannon range, Blaze fired a short and controlled burst. The first round clipped one of the vertical stabilizers, which caught their attention. The two shot over his head but came around looking to fight him.

'_Oooh. Rage, you see that emblem?' _The lady said, still operating on the Osean radio channel.

'_I do. Thought they all disappeared?' _A male started speaking, also on their radio. This man sounded like he was much more level-headed. He also had a Belkan accent.

'_Doesn't matter. I'll still rip its throat out!' _The lady viciously said, and in correspondence one of the Su-47s launched an attack at Blaze in his Su-33.

'Niche heute **(not today)**.' Blaze replied in Belkan, sending his Su-33 into a near-standstill in the air and firing a long burst of his cannon at the attacking Su-47. The pilot was too slow to react and caught the first half of the burst before being warded off, grey smoke belching out from a damaged engine. A missile was fired at Blaze. He pointed the nose towards the sea floor and flew down so that the missile shot out above him.

'_You bitch!' _The lady cursed in anger.

'_Shit, we're out of our league. Scream, we're pulling back!' _The male ordered the lady. He definitely had control over his emotions.

'_Goddamnit! Three Strikes, I'll send you down so fast you won't have time to piss your pants!' _The lady taunted before flying off with her squad leader.

'_They're retreating!' _Count pointed out.

'_Let them go. The mission is more important.' _General Clemens stepped in suddenly. Just as well. Razgriz and Strider Squadrons were starting to run out of ammo, and the Erusean presence in the port was thinning out. Blaze reminded himself to ask a tech later how the fuck had a pair of little shits in Berkuts had broken into their frequencies. For now, he went into a holding pattern around the task force. The three fighter squadrons and the cruisers in the fleet had eliminated every Erusean aircraft lingering around the area.

'Puffin Actual, Razgriz Leader, skies are clear. You are ready to begin landing operations.' Blaze reported to the captain of the _Puffin. _

'_Outstanding, Razgriz. Commencing capture operation.' _Captain Airey said from the bridge of the _Puffin. _Blaze sat back in his seat. Mission effectively complete.

'_About damn time. I'll be taking my leave. I trust you people can keep an eye on things.' _Clemens half-yawned out. The guy was insufferable.

'_Mission complete. I can finally eat my sausage rolls.' _Long Caster joked from up above. Blaze chuckled. So did Trigger and Phantom.

'_You damn AWACS ops.' _Phantom joked with the AWACS.

* * *

Onboard one of the destroyers, OFS _Night Jar, _the ship's command information centre was processing information as it came in. _Night Jar _was steaming aft and to the starboard side of the _Puffin _at such an angle that if you were trying to find her from _Alicorn's _perspective she was hidden. This fact would later save the ship and all 330 of the crew.

A fire-control man was looking at the optical view of one of the masts above the bridge of the _Night Jar. _He noticed movement at the _Alicorn. _Specifically, on top of the two engine pods.

'TAO, I can see movement top-side on the _Alicorn.' _The fire-control man reported to the tactical actions officer. The TAO heard this and immediately reported it to the ship's captain.

* * *

Blaze was flying circles to the north-west of the task force when he heard it.

'_All friendly units, be advised, the Alicorn is moving!' _Captain Airey from the _Puffin _reported. Blaze looked towards the _Alicorn. _He could see a small wake form behind the super-sub as it started moving towards the port entrance. '_Cruising south, making 5 knots. Wait, is tha-_'

Blaze blinked, and in an instance it seemed as if the entire top portion of the _Puffin _had magically caught fire. There was a deep _boom _sound that resonated through the air that could be heard even from his position. This anomaly wasn't just contained to the _Puffin. _The two cruisers leading the task force exploded, hit by some sort of energy weapon. A couple of seconds later, three of the four destroyers were hit by the same thing and exploded. One of them, the _Kite, _detonated spectacularly. The entire ship disappeared in what was probably a magazine explosion. Once the smoke cleared, there were shattered pieces of what once had been an _Arleigh Burke-_class destroyer rapidly sinking into the tropical waters. In a scarce few seconds, six of the seven ships of the task force had been vaporized. The lone survivor of the task force, a destroyer called _Night Jar _from what the IFF was telling him, pushed ahead of the sinking carcass of the _Puffin_, wake spilling out behind her. There was a small puff of smoke from the forecastle of the destroyer, and a moment later there was an explosion on the _Alicorn. _Right where one of the railguns would have been.

'_This is the Night Jar! I don't know what the fuck just happened but the Puffin is on fire and is sinking!' _Someone onboard the last remaining destroyer, probably the captain, reported. '_Exchanging fire with the Alicorn!' _A bunch of white trails shot up from the _Alicorn's_ engine pods. Missiles. They arced up and then down coming after the _Night Jar. _The latter retaliated with a full salvo of air-defence missiles, RIM-66 SM-2 Standard and RIM-162 Enhanced Sea Sparrows. The type of attack she was defending against was exactly what she was built for, and as expected she did the job well. A total of forty-eight missiles were launched at her. None of them came close to touching her. _Night Jar _and _Alicorn _passed each other, the former pelting the latter with shells from her Bushmaster autocannons. Against a ship more than twice her size, the shells did nothing but scratch paint off the hull. Recognising this, the gunners of the autocannons adjusted their fire to the much more vulnerable Rafale M fighters that were assembling on the flight deck. Having a large amount of explosive filler, the shells absolutely shredded apart the fighters on the deck then and there. All four exploded, leaving fragments on the deck. _Alicorn _accelerated ahead away from the port and the destroyer. Blaze watched her go. There wasn't anything he could do about it, not with the weapons he currently had loaded.

'_The Alicorn's heading out to sea. Long Caster, we cannot pursue, there are sailors in the water!' _The captain of the _Night Jar _reported.

'_Roger, Night Jar, stay on station to rescue anyone in the water. LRSSG, abort operation. Drake and Enchanter, provide overwatch for the destroyer until additional forces arrive on station.' _Long Caster ordered the aircraft around.

'_What about the Alicorn?' _Trigger asked, uneasy with letting the giant superweapon of a sub get away.

'_We can't track it when it dives.' _

'Long Caster, requesting a field divert to the nearest friendly carrier. Drake won't last for an extended period of time without support.' Blaze requested to resupply at a carrier with his carrier-based aircraft.

'_Take Swordsman with you. Granted.' _Long Caster permitted him to do so. '_Everyone else, return to base.' _


	50. Chapter 48 - Vindication

'_Razgriz, enemy AWACS approaching the area.' _

'_Seen. Locking… target destroyed.' _

'_Night Jar reporting. We've recovered all of the sailors we could find. Only two hundred were accounted for.'_

'_Jesus christ. What about the other ships?'_

'_Nothing left to salvage. Puffin, Flycatcher, Hamerkop, Kite, Parrotbill and Babbler are all confirmed lost.'_

'_Understood. Return to formation.' _

As the sun was setting, a black Su-33 landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier, catching the third arresting wire.

* * *

_**Fort Grace **_**(CV-04), **_**Kitty Hawk**_**-class aircraft carrier**

'Welcome to the _Fort Grace._' Lieutenant-Commander Phantom welcomed the two Razgriz aces to his carrier. The _Fort Grace _was a beacon of hope across the FCU's fleet. Back in the day, she had been the launch pad from where ISAF's top ace had launched from to form a final last stand around their GHQ. Before that, back when she was new to the FCU Navy, she single-handedly held off an entire naval invasion on the refueling facilities at Anchorhead Bay that were providing supplies for the entire Allied fleet. In a way, she was the Usean equivalent of the _Kestrel. _

'So, this your carrier?' Snow asked as he and Alex were escorted off the flight deck and into the superstructure.

'Is now. I was on the _Albatross _when the war broke out.' Phantom explained.

'Ah shit. Didn't she burn down at the start of the war?' Alex asked. He had remembered seeing the _Albatross _at Fort Greys Island, stuck in position at her moor.

'Yup. And because your navy is hesitant to send any of its carriers further than Seal's Bridge, we're de-facto the only aircraft carrier this far into enemy waters.' Phantom answered. Alex raised his eyebrows. Phantom escorted them down some stairwells below the flight deck. 'We're heading to the captain's cabin. He has something to ask of you.'

'Are we gonna get kidnapped?' Alex joked. They arrived at a wooden door with a metal nameplate that said _Captain's At-Sea Cabin - CAPT W. Powers._ Outside of the door, an officer was waiting. He appeared to be of the ship's crew and was wearing the uniform of his respective navy - monotone navy-blue working fatigues.

'Sir, these are the two Osean pilots the captain requested to see.' Phantom said to the officer. The latter nodded and opened the door for them.

'Thank you, commander. Go in with them, you're involved.' The officer ushered Alex, Snow and Phantom through the door into the CO's cabin. Waiting inside was another officer, a man who Alex assumed was the ship's captain.

'Welcome to the FCU's shining pride.' The captain greeted them. He offered a hand to the two visitors. Alex shook it followed by Snow while Phantom stood at attention behind them. Captain Powers had a grip of steel. He was balding with bright green eyes that didn't seem to miss a beat.

'Didn't think we'd be here longer than a single resupply. I heard you needed our help with something?' Alex quickly got to business.

'That's right. We need your expertise in sub-hunting.' Captain Powers requested. Alex took a double take to make sure he was hearing right.

'Sub hunting? Sir, we're fighter pilots, not ASW operators.' Snow was also confused.

'Come on, I've heard about the deeds carried out by the Demons of Razgriz. You destroyed both of Yuktobania's super-subs, and I've also heard that you yourself commander sank a third that was leased to Erusea.' Powers countered Snow's argument with straight facts. Alex half-nodded to himself.

'Alright, you have a point. Let me guess, Erusea has another big fucking sub?' Alex asked.

'Big by conventional means yes, but not a super-sub that you're thinking of. We've been tracking a hostile submarine that's been hounding convoys and warships using short-range burst missiles. Audiographically we've been able to deduct that it's a converted _Typhoon-_class of some sort.' Powers explained. Alex thought about it for a second. Something like that would make sense. Back during Operation Dual Wielder, the carrier OFS _Valkyrie_, her escorts and three entire carrier air wings of aircraft had been destroyed by a submarine wielding burst missiles. It wasn't the _Alicorn _or the other _Scinfaxi_-class sub he had destroyed; the former had been in mothballs and the latter had only been shipped over after that had happened.

'Alright. Where is it and what's your plan?' Alex pressed for more details. He couldn't attack a submarine without a plan of some sort.

'Phantom?' Powers referred to the EW squadron leader. Phantom turned to face the two Osean visitors.

'Do you know what a MAD is?' He quizzed.

'Magnetic anomaly detector. They're used by helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft to scan in specific areas for any anomalies in the Earth's magnetosphere such as a large metal formation underwater.' Snow answered, also explaining the function of such a device.

'Winner. We've torn one off of a Viking and put it on a rack that one of you can carry. The techs will explain more in the briefing.'

'Phantom, escort them there. I don't want to take more time than we need them for.' Powers ushered the three out. Phantom stood up, followed by Alex and Snow. Phantom pointed towards the door and left, followed once again by Alex and Snow.

* * *

_September 4, 2019, 2000 Hours_

_Operation Sea Vengeance _

_Spring Sea, Usea_

'_Right now, we've got a menace to the Allies's supply convoys and warships undertaking operations in the region. This menace is some type of Typhoon-class submarine with modifications to carry burst missiles similar to those carried by Yuktobania's Scinfaxi-class super-submarines.'_

'_To destroy this threat, we've made a device that can get an accurate bearing on any submarine that is portable on a standard carrier fighter. A MAD. This thing functions the same as one that would be deployed on an S-3B Viking or a Merlin helicopter. It only works at low speeds, so you'll have to be moving slow for it to detect anything. Commander Williams, you'll be carrying this device.'_

'_To cover your asses from any missile or airborne threat, you'll be getting electronic support from Enchanter Squadron and a group of warships led by the cruiser Tea Time. Enchanter will be jamming any transmissions from the radar pods carried by the damn thing. Once you've gotten an accurate bearing on the sub, Tea Time and her group will fire an ASROC salvo. If that doesn't sink her, you'll go in with bombs and anti-ship missiles.'_

* * *

_AIRCRAFT:_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Enchanter 1/Phantom: E/A-18G Growler_

_Enchanter 2/Vampire: E/A-18G Growler_

_Enchanter 3/Ghost: E/A-18G Growler_

_Enchanter 4/Reaper: E/A-18G Growler_

Blaze, sitting in the cockpit of his Su-33 with the MAD pod securely mounted under the belly of his aircraft, was the first to be launched by the catapults into the skies. Their target, the submarine, was somewhere within a small underwater island chain a couple of hundred kilometres east of Tyler Island, which placed it within 20 minutes flight-time from the carrier. There were no clouds to blot out the skies this far away from land, so there was a full moon illuminating the six aircraft of the strike formation. Blaze checked his weapons baggage. A mixture of GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles. The Exocet was the FCU's standard anti-ship missile in place of the Harpoon that was used by the Osean military. In function however the two weapons were identical.

'_How do these wild geese hunts usually go?' _Snow asked Blaze, referring to the submarine chases. While he was a Razgriz, he hadn't been on either of the operations that had involved submarine hunting that he and the original members had.

'Usually they involve an external factor bringing the target to the surface where we then sink it.' Blaze summed up. The only time that hadn't been the case so far was on the _Hrimfaxi. _The flight of six pressed on to the target area; an undersea trench referred to as Red Route One. The Office of Naval Intelligence believed that Erusean submarines had been using this area for some time as a safe place to hide, so the OMDF had placed a SOSUS net there. The sound patterns being scanned by that net were the intelligence they were acting on. Blaze and the gang arrived at the target area. Enchanter started doing circles around the area, looking for any emissions to jam, while Blaze dropped down to low altitude and reduced his speed. The MAD activated on its own. And so began the hunt.

'_Tea Time, _Razgriz 1, beginning MAD search.' Blaze informed the AEGIS cruiser and her squadron of smaller escort ships.

'_Copy that, Razgriz. We'll be waiting.' _The captain of the _Tea Time _answered. Blaze did a circle around the outer circle of where the sub was believed to be. To him it appeared like he was doing circles but Blaze knew that under the water there was an entire mountain formation. Halfway through the first circle, the IRST pod on the nose of Blaze's Su-33 detected a heat anomaly. He looked at what the pod had locked onto. A small but unusually hot barrel in the tumbling waves. Blaze recognised the device.

'Enchanter, the target is deploying radar buoys.' Blaze informed the people in the EW aircraft.

'_I see them. Jamming.' _Phantom answered by sending a specific burst of high-powered radio waves that overloaded the processor on the buoy and effectively fried it, rendering it inert. Guessing that the sub was somewhere nearby judging by the fact that the buoy just appeared there, Blaze turned to where the buoy had come from. He passed the spot. As he had anticipated, the MAD started blaring as if there was a large gap in the magnetosphere.

'Target located and marked.' Blaze reported to the strike group.

'_Copy. Engaging target with ASROC.' Tea Time _reported back.

'Snow, Enchanter, climb to Angels 5.' Blaze suggested to his wingman and the EW squadron while putting his aircraft into a climb to get above the five-thousand feet mark which was safely above the maximum burst missile ceiling. He saw some short orange glows in the distance. _Tea Time _and her group of four Type 26-class frigates had fired a salvo of vertically-launched anti-submarine rockets, guided missiles that carried a lightweight torpedo as payload. At fifteen kilometres of range, the missiles took a minute to get to the target area and drop their payloads. Twelve of the torpedoes splashed into the water. Each weapon then took a couple of seconds to spool up and activate their sensors. Then it took another few seconds for the sonars on the torpedoes to find and acquire their target.

'_Torpedos are tracking. The sub is increasing speed and coming to the surface. Missile transient!' _A sonar operator onboard the cruiser was reading the situation.

'All forces, ease up. No-one is within their sphere of effect.' Blaze reminded everyone in the AO. Burst missiles were dreaded, but easy enough to avoid. A missile splashed up from the sea and rapidly climbed upwards. It flew to its detonation spot and exploded, spraying a wide area with molten hot shrapnel. However, it didn't hit or destroy anything.

'_Large explosion detected! Waiting for any secondaries… negative. Ballast ejection detected. She's surfacing.' _The sonar operator from the _Tea Time _was narrating the situation. Still sitting at five thousand feet, Blaze and Snow waited for any tell-tale signs of a submarine about to surface. Because it was night-time, they didn't see the shadow of the _Typhoon_-class SSBN in the water until the hull of the boat appeared from under the surface of the ocean. In an explosion of frothed-up sea water, the submarine appeared, illuminated by the light being reflected off the moon. It had a lot of holes on its starboard side where the numerous torpedos had hit it. Smoke started filling the skies above it.

'Blaze, engaging!' Blaze called out, turning his canopy towards the ocean floor and diving, bombs prepared.

'_Swordsman, engaging!' _Snow was right behind him on the dive. The two Razgriz aces centred their bombsights on the centre of the submarine, on the missile tubes just ahead of the superstructure. Blaze loosed off his GBU-12s and fired a pair of Exocets before levelling out and flying away in the direction of the FCU strike group. Swordsman dropped a couple of heavier GBU-24s to ensure major damage. Both flew off and gained some altitude in anticipation of a missile launch. The sub wasn't able to launch any before the multitude of things dropped by Razgriz Squadron smashed into the missile deck like a hammer. The two Exocets hit first, ripping a hole in the top of the sub which the GBU-12s then entered through, smashed through a deck and then exploded, ripping an even bigger hole through the sub for the follow-up GBU-24s to rip all the way through the remaining decks to the bottom of the triple-layered pressure hull, blowing it out and creating a hole through which one would be able to see the ocean if they were looking down into it. Water started gushing through this newly created hole in the hull to add to the troubles from the torpedo hits. The submarine started to roll over to one side.

'The target is listing. She's dead. Too many holes to patch.' Blaze reported the situation as he saw it.

'_If she's gone, the mission is complete. Enchanter, Razgriz, return to the carrier.' _The _Tea Time's _captain ordered. Blaze checked his baggage. He still had two Exocets and two GBU-12s left plus a pair of Sidewinders. With the submarine sinking, Blaze felt vindicated. Revenge for the deaths of 200 pilots and six thousand sailors.

* * *

**Elsewhere, the Spring Sea**

'Target is holding a steady course heading 2-4-5, speed 15 knots.' In a different, Osean submarine under the surface of the ocean, a separate sonar operator reported.

'Maintain our course. Command won't be happy if we lose her.' The captain of the OFS _Diana _said.

'Yes sir.' The helmsman and sonar operators both answered.

'This big fucker is a prick to keep track of.' One of the other sonar operators said to his division mates.

* * *

**Elsewhere, airspace over Los Canas**

Lining up for a landing approach on the capital city of the Federation of Central Usea, Trigger looked over his shoulder to check how his baggage was going.

'How are we feeling?' He asked Avril, who was sitting in the back of his F-15E. Unlike that one time over the Yinshi Valley, she was actually wearing a g-suit. Not only that, this was only a short transit flight.

'Daydreamy.' Avril answered. Trigger chuckled. He did the same thing whenever on transits. They were otherwise so fucking boring.

'_It's… a rainforest.' _Huxian said wistfully, as if she had only ever seen them in books.

Strider Squadron in their collection of F-15s touched down on the military airstrip at Los Canas International Airport. They weren't going to be there for long; their ultimate destination was San Salvacion. The air traffic controller directed them over to the refuelling station where they could all be refuelled before heading back out.

* * *

_**Fort Grace **_**Carrier Battle Group, Spring Sea**

Alex and Snow were kitting down from the operation they had just been on. Alex took off his gloves and rolled up his sleeves to get the bulky g-suit off which briefly revealed the burn scars on his forearms. Snow didn't flinch, he had seen them before.

'Why did you get those scars inked? Wouldn't that be harmful?' Snow asked. Alex looked at his arms for a second. The areas that weren't covered in scar tissue were covered in tattoo ink, and even most of the scar tissue had ink on it.

'No, it just looks out of place. As to why, well, I've lived most of my life on the edge of the flame. Why not get something to represent that.' Alex explained, rolling his sleeves back down. He stopped his motion for a brief second. He smiled, but said nothing before going back to what he was doing.


	51. Chapter 49 - Anchorhead Raid

'_Trigger, are we connected?' _From the other side of a computer terminal on the other side of the continent, Wiseman was asking if Strider Squadron was connected to the briefing that was about to happen. Trigger checked everything again.

'Connected, sir. We're listening.' Trigger reported, standing back and taking a seat.

'_Alright. General, you can continue.' _Wiseman said to Brigadier-General Clemens.

'_The Erusean military is gathering its remaining naval forces at Anchorhead Bay. Apparently, they're even bringing in ships from the mothball fleet. This is probably to reinforce their naval forces in preperation for the expected showdown in Farbanti. We've received intel that the Alicorn will also be joining them.' _Clemens started the briefing.

'_What source is this intel coming from?' _The OIA analyst, North, was connected to this briefing just like last time. '_There's a possibility the Alicorn's former crew have been tasked with sabotage.' _

'_Your job is to analyze the enemy's weaponry. From now on, speak only when authorized.' _Clemens snapped at the analyst. Trigger inhaled silently, feeling his pain. This general was a bitch to work with.

'_Here's your mission. The LRSSG, or more specifically, Strider Squadron is to raid Anchorhead. Carry out airstrikes on Anchor Bay to the north and Dakiouk Bay to the south, inflicting damage on everything you can. If we can strip the port of its naval functions, we can also prevent the submarine from joining forces.' _Clemens explained the mission objective. Strider was already aware of their objective, since they had been forward deployed to the military airbase at San Salvacion a week ago. It pissed Trigger off to know that unlike last time he didn't have support from the aces in Razgriz Squadron.

'_The area around Anchorhead is Erusean territory. To make your job easier, you'll be approaching the base at low altitude. Tankers from the FCU's carrier Fort Grace will be around in the area to provide refuelling if needed. Also, the enemy won't be expecting an attack at one of their most defended ports. Use that element of surprise to get the jump on them.' _Wiseman interjected to say what he had to say.

'_That'll raise the survival rate.' _Clemens butted back in. Count scoffed. Talking about survival rate from the general didn't seem to fit him.

'Survival rate, huh?' Lanza asked.

'_The element of surprise is the key. Beyond that, I just need a couple of pilots who will stick to my orders. We don't need aces to succeed. You got anything to say? No? Good.' _Clemens continued to speak.

'_Brigadier-General.' _North tried to get something in.

'_That is all.' _Clemens dismissed the briefing.

'_David. Go on.' _Wiseman stood in for the OIA man.

'_Let me share the career of Matias Torres, captain of the submarine Alicorn. Does anyone know how his people hailed him?' _North questioned.

'Captain Torres? Wasn't he the commanding officer of the flagship of the Aegir Fleet?' Count seemed to recognise the name.

'_Winner. He's known as the Hero of Comberth Harbour. Like Count said, he was the captain of the battleship Tanager at the time of the Continental War. But when the fleet was sunk, so was his ship.'_

'Yet he's the hero?' Lanza seemed perplexed.

'_He was able to bring most of his crew home with accurate damage control and precise evacuation orders. Then we have the accident with the Alicorn. Many believe that if they stay with him, they'll live.'_

'Hey Trigger, sounds like you've got a rival.' Count joked to Trigger.

'Fuck yourself' was Trigger's reply.

'_Transfer from surface to underwater is unusual. However, considering his skill and reputation along with the fact that the Alicorn is no ordinary submarine, it all makes sense.' _North finished with his story. Torres had quite a history.

'_Strider, I'd like to add one more condition to the mission. I want a one-hundred percent survival rate. Anything less and the mission will be a failure.' _

'Oh come on, we'll be fine.' Huxian spoke for the first time in the briefing. Trigger looked to both sides. These pilots were his responsibility. And by hell or water he would keep them alive.

* * *

**An hour later**

_**Fort Grace **_**Carrier Battle Group**

Alex watched the morning flight operations begin from the cockpit of his Su-33. He had heard from Trigger that Strider were going to launch an attack on the naval facilities at Anchorhead Bay. At the same time, he had been informed by the XO of the _Fort Grace _that the carrier's tanker aircraft were going to be providing support for the Osean operation at Anchorhead Bay. Alex had managed to persuade Captain Powers to remain on the ship for as long as it took for the operation to start. And now he and Snow were being flung off from catapults 1 and 2 into the skies and towards Anchorhead Bay. Opinions of the fuckwit general who had ordered the operation didn't matter to him, consequences be damned. Strider wasn't going to fare well on their own. Alex looked down towards the launch bubble and the deck crew. They were in final launch preparations. Across to his left, there was a bang as the catapult that Snow was sitting on was fired and his F-14 was dragged down the deck and into the skies. Alex was next.

'_Razgriz 1, cleared to launch.' _The air traffic controller operating from the superstructure permitted him to shoot the cat. Alex looked down again at the launch bubble. He saluted the operator down there and as quick as he knew it the cat fired and Alex was launched into the green-grey skies. A storm was brewing. Alex wanted to be there when it landed.

* * *

Elsewhere in an Air Force formation, Trigger, Count, Huxian and Lanza were approaching Anchorhead Bay from the sea. Anchorhead Bay. One of Erusea's largest naval bases on its western coast. Strider were about to slag it. But before they could do that, they had to go around the Erusean air defence network, which had involved going through the region that the remaining Arsenal Bird was patrolling. They had gotten through there without incident, but then they still had another hour to go before reaching Anchorhead. As expected, that time was spent mostly with boredom and silence.

'Hey Count, when did you become a book nerd?' Trigger asked the former Heirelark flight instructor in an attempt to alleviate the silence.

'_Hey Trigger, when did you become a mechanic?' _Count reflected Trigger's joke back at him. Trigger winced. He wasn't expecting a snappy reply. Both knew what he was trying to stab at, and Count didn't exactly appreciate it being brought up publicly especially around a person of interest.

'Okay, point taken.' Trigger conceded and kept his mouth shut. He heard Huxian chuckle silently. It was very quiet, but still perceivable.

'_Strider Squadron, Razgriz Squadron, checking in.' _The voice of an experienced commander interrupted their conversation. Trigger frowned. _Why is…_

'This is Strider Squadron, reading you lima charlie. What are you guys doing out here?' Trigger asked. He knew that Razgriz 1 and 2 were both out on a carrier, but he didn't know they were still capable of going on operations.

'Ah, you know, ignoring the orders of an asshole.' Blaze answered Trigger's question, coming up on the left-hand side of Strider Squadron with an F-14 pilot in tow.

'_G'day, regular Air Force folks.' _Snow said to Strider as the only actual naval aviator. Blaze was _officially _in the navy. But he didn't have the 20-plus years of service that Snow had in the service.

'_I don't blame you. Clemens is a prick.' _Count agreed with Blaze. _'But don't tell him I said that.' _

* * *

_AIRCRAFT:_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Huxian: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Lanza: F-15C Eagle_

The six aircraft approached Anchorhead Bay. There was a thick green-grey cloud cover over the entire area and rain was expected. Each aircraft was equipped with bomb racks and a small number of short-range AAMs with no ship-to-ship missiles. All attacks were going to be carried out by pairs on major targets. Blaze and Swordsman split off into their pair. Trigger and Lanza, and then Count and Huxian did the same. They continued in their formations all the way to the western side of the AO.

'_You've reached the AO. Begin operation.' _Wiseman declared. In sync, the three pairs went to full afterburner and went after their targets; Blaze and Swordsman were after the land-based AEGIS system that served as the air defence centre for the entire area. They approached the area that the AEGIS system was placed on. Surrounding it were several VLS batteries fitted with SM-6 interceptors. Before the operators at the site woke up and started firing those systems at the attacking Oseans, Blaze dropped a GBU-12 into the centre of the building that had the SPY-1 panels on it. This bomb entered the frontal face of the building and exploded, bringing down the entire deckhouse and with it the main air defence network around Anchorhead Bay. Swordsman passed by to the other side, targeting a smaller nearby building that possessed the separate targeting radars with a GBU-12 of his own. Like the bigger AEGIS building, the targeting radars went down in a flash of fire, smoke and dust. Blaze looked for another target nearby. He found one. A _Kirov-_class battlecruiser anchored in one of the many docks. The ships were massive, but because of their age not many of them were left. Following the Circum-Pacific War and the Anean Continental War, the Erusean Navy was the biggest operator of them. Blaze approached perpendicularly to the battlecruiser and dropped two GBUs near the aft of the ship underneath the back of the superstructure. He was aiming for the reactors; the design of the battlecruiser meant that if both reactors were taken offline the ship would lose power. The two bombs hit in the intended spot, shooting through the outer hull, through the thin armour plating that covered the reactor compartments and detonated inside those compartments. The battlecruiser shook, damaged. Fragmentation and other debris popped out of the original impact point. But the damage was done. With piping severed and the reactor containers misaligned, the system automatically SCRAMed on both systems and effectively shut down the ship.

Swordsman went for the other _Kirov_-class battlecruiser moored on the opposite side of Anchor Bay. He dropped GBU-12s in the same area that Blaze had dropped on the other _Kirov. _Both slammed into the reactor containment units and exploded, knocking out both, forcing a SCRAM and shutting down all power on the battlecruiser. The two biggest ships in the port down, Blaze and Swordsman looped around and looked for another target. They found it in an AEGIS-equipped _Admiral Gorshkov_-class frigate. A small ship but still dangerous, Blaze led the attack with a single GBU-24 right through the VLS tubes. The bigger 2000lb bomb had no problem smashing through the outer hull and armour around the missile magazines. The warhead exploded, in turn detonating most of the missiles in the magazine. This blew off everything ahead of the bridge and shattered the keel of the vessel. Snow got another mission kill of his own on an old _Knox_-class frigate, a pair of GBU-12s hitting the very rear of the ship and knocking out steering. As Blaze flew to attack a patrol boat at the mouth of the harbour with his cannon, it occurred to him that they probably wouldn't be able to sink every ship with the armaments that he, Snow and Strider Squadron had.

* * *

While the LRSSG was hammering Anchorhead Bay, its command section was watching the action unfold from Orca Forward Air Base. Wiseman, Clemens and Grimm were all in the command and operations room listening to radar chatter.

'So that's where they went.' Grimm mused, referring to his two squadmates. He wasn't surprised. When it came to authority, Blaze routinely ignored his superiors orders. Clemens on the other hand was annoyed.

'Major Grimm, did you know your squad was out there?' He asked the orange-haired senior officer.

'I did not, general.' Grimm answered honestly.

'I'll be seeing them in the brig then.' Clemens said, annoyed. On the tactical display, the six Osean aircraft were moving around. Numerous red marks that indicated hostile targets were disappearing at an alarming pace.

* * *

'_Looks like the Eruseans have woken up. Interceptors approaching from the east!' _Count pointed out to his squadmates. Indeed, Erusean MQ-99s were on an approach vector towards the Oseans. And they weren't looking to give them a friendly greeting.

'Blaze, engaging hostile air.' Blaze announced his intention to intercept the interceptors.

'_Swordsman, engaging!' _Snow had Blaze's back covered. The two black and red-painted fighters turned to meet the hostiles. The fighters coming to intercept them were four drones, MQ-99s, the most commonly deployed Erusean UCAV. They were also one of the worst air-to-air combat UCAVs Blaze had encountered. Snow started the engagement by firing four AMRAAMs from the weapon pods he carried under his wings. The UAVs failed to acknowledge that there were missiles coming their way and as a result all four were blown out of the air before they got a chance to do anything.

'_UAVs down.' _Snow reported. Blaze frowned. That was way too easy. On the other side at Dakiouk Bay, Strider was tearing apart the ships and ground facilities there. Trigger and Lanza went for a dual attack on an AEGIS frigate that was stuck at a refuelling station. Trigger launched a couple of laser-guided Hellfires at the CIWS mounts on the frigate so it couldn't shoot down the cluster bombs that Lanza went to drop on the fuel tanks. The cluster of explosions on the tanks and the heat caused as a result lit most of the fuel on fire. This fire then spread through the piping all the way to the frigate. The pressure that the ignited fuel was under burst the piping that led into the engines of the frigate, which then started spraying liquid fire all throughout the engine room and onto the deck. Trigger came around for another strike, this time aiming for the centre of the ship with bombs. He dropped two. They entered through the funnel, breached a couple of decks and exploded just above the keel, the force of the explosion blowing a hole in the bottom of the hull. The next thing that Trigger and Lanza attacked was a cruiser, a _Slava_-class missile carrier. One of the largest cruisers in the world, they were a bitch to kill. To get the maximum effect with the weapons he had, the pair climbed to about a kilometre and then dived on the ship. Eight bombs were dropped between the two aircraft, all aimed at the forward and aft section sof the cruiser. Trigger's bombs were aimed towards the aft and were intended to take out SAMs, steering gear and engines. Lanza's were meant to disable the anti-ship missile batteries, CIC, bridge and gun magazine. In the end, they both got their intended target. The back and front of the cruiser were blown open. At the front, the ship's gun magazine exploded which ripped up much of the topside. At the back, the ship's rudder and shaft were severed, denying any form of movement. This effectively disabled the ship. Trigger looked at the LCD screen that showed what he had left on his pylons. About half of what he had started with. And there was still a lot more to go around and destroy.

'Command, Strider 1, we're not going to be able to get this done on our own. We need support.' Trigger reported to Wiseman and Long Caster.

'_Negative, Strider. Continue mission as planned.' _Clemens denied any requests for support. Flying around Anchor Bay, attacking the various facilities that provided support for the fleet, Blaze growled. At this rate, they were going to be overwhelmed. He swapped radio frequencies from the Osean radio network to the frequency that he knew was used by the armed forces of the Federation of Central Usea.

'_Fort Grace, _Razgriz 1, requesting additional support for the strike mission.' Blaze directly made a request to the carrier from which he had been on for a week. There was no reply for a minute or two, so he assumed that they either didn't hear him or they were operating at EMCON Alpha. It wasn't until Blaze and Swordsman launched a gun run on a vehicle pool close to the dry docks that he got a reply.

'_Razgriz, supporting aircraft are being dispatched. Strike force en-route, ETA 15 minutes.' _Captain Powers from the _Fort Grace _directly answered his request. Blaze rose his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't expecting a positive reply. Blaze switched from the FCU net back to the Osean net.

'Support is coming, hold out for 15 minutes.' Blaze relayed that information to Strider. Strider were still going around destroying things; Count and Huxian were chasing after a frigate that had managed to get out of its mooring before Strider had attacked. Huxian led the attack, strafing the frigate with Hydra rockets and breaking just about anything that wasn't in an armoured mount. Count followed and slammed the frigate with a pair of AGM-154 JSOWs that entered vital internal spaces and caused a large amount of damage. The frigate started slowing. Something had damaged her engines. To add to the frigate's troubles, Blaze and Swordsman showed up and slammed her forward magazines with bombs. The frigate went up in a massive explosion, magazines compromised. Count looked on in horror. The Razgriz pilots were precise, quick and lethal, more so than any of the Strider pilots.

'_Steal all the fun why don't ya?' _Huxian joked to the two veterans.

'_Hey, you were toying around with your prey.' _Swordsman, the older of the two, retorted. Huxian backed down in defeat. Her and Count went looking around for more targets with the limited ammunition they had. The target they found was an MV-22 Osprey spooling up near the command centre at Dakiouk Bay. Count took the shot with a Hellfire. Laser-guided, the Hellfire locked onto the VTOL aircraft and impacted, turning the Osprey into a ball of flame. There were more of them lined up at various helipads around that command centre. The two looped back around and attacked. There were four more Ospreys. Count and Huxian took two each. Count nailed his two with Hellfires while Huxian took out one with her cannon and destroyed the other with a GBU. Not exactly the most efficient way of dealing with things, but in the end all five Ospreys were gone, disintegrated. Next up on the list of things to destroy was a pair of _Kongou-_class destroyers. These vessels were AEGIS equipped. Count came in low and released another pair of GBUs at the waterline of the first destroyer. One of the bombs was intercepted by CIWS, but the second made it and found a path into the crew's mess. There were a few sailors in there that were part of the damage control crew. All of them were killed by the following explosion. They wouldn't be the last to die, either. Huxian followed up Count's attack with GBUs of her own that were aimed at the waterline. Two were dropped, putting her down to roughly a quarter of the air-to-ground munitions that she had started with. The two slammed into the black marking just above the water and exploded, blowing out two large holes and forcing water to gush into those holes. The CIWS from the destroyer fired at Huxian as she passed over, but every round that the Phalanx fired missed her if only narrowly.

'Huxian, we're playing with fire everytime we strafe that destroyer.' Count reminded her.

'_I know, but what choice do we have?' _She asked. Count knew she was right.

'Alright, good point.' Count conceded, coming around for another strafing run. He targeted the two CIWS mounts with Hellfires and fired. The CIWS ignored the missiles and targeted Count. He cursed silently and pulled up to evade. _Most _of the rounds missed. He felt something clip his tailplane. Count cursed a little louder this time. Below, the two CIWS mounts on the destroyer exploded as they were hit by the Hellfire anti-tank missiles. Count backed off and looked off his shoulder at the area where he had been damaged. His left rear stabiliser had a chunk blown out of it. Not a large chunk, but there was a liquid that he assumed was hydraulic fluid spilling out. Count went to his dashboard and cut off the hydraulic supply to the stabilizers. He looked back. The leak had stopped. Count pressed on and went for another attack on the AEGIS destroyer.

* * *

While the LRSSG was attacking Anchorhead, the FCU Navy was trying to defend it.

'New bogey, IDed as 0331, same radar signature. Bearing 230.'

'Kill track 0331 with birds.'

'Batteries released.'

'Missile away.'

From the forward VLS pack of the _Ticonderoga-_class cruiser _Tea Time, _two SM-2 Standard missiles were launched in a ball of fire and pushed towards the new radar contact. This was the fifth contact so far to try and breach the no-fly zone that the fleet was imposing around the area. It was also the fifth contact to be splashed in that no-fly zone. The missile flew towards a drone. The drone popped chaff and flares to evade unsuccessfully. The drone was slammed by the SM-2 and destroyed.

'Target splashed.' A firecontrolman reported.

'_CIC, Bridge, where are those drones coming from?' _The captain of the _Tea Time _requested information from the tactical actions officer. The TAO looked at his screen. There was nothing on radar that indicated a launch platform, and the only thing in that direction for a long time was ocean, which meant they were coming from a carrier. Or…

'Bridge, TAO, UAV launch platform unknown. But the drones match radar signatures from that of Yuktobanian Navy SLUAVs in recon mode.' The TAO answered, implying that the drones may have been coming from a submarine.

'_Oh, that's just brilliant.' _The captain replied, sounding annoyed and rightfully so. He and the TAO knew the implications of what the TAO had suggested.

* * *

Blaze did a gun run on one of the small harbour patrol boats that was vainly firing into the skies with its one crew-served machinegun. The 23mm shells easily could defeat the polymer hull of the boat, destroying it in a single burst.

'_Razgriz Leader, Fort Grace, message, over.' _Captain Powers attempted to contact Blaze. Blaze hit his transmit key.

'This is Razgriz, send message.' Blaze replied. Aside from a status update on the aircraft launched from the carrier, he didn't know why he would be getting a message.

'_The submarine Alicorn may be in the vicinity. I say again, Alicorn may be nearby.' _The captain informed him. Blaze looked around, out to sea. They hardly had enough munitions to destroy the existing fleet. They definitely didn't have enough to deal with _Alicorn. _

'Roger, cheers for the heads ups.' Blaze thanked the _Fort Grace's _captain before returning to his squad's own radio net. 'Strider, _Alicorn _is believed to be in the region. Heads on a swivel.'

Trigger had heard the line about the _Alicorn _but decided to ignore it. He was more focused on bombing the shit out of a frigate that was stalling the advance of the rest of the fleet. Three bombs, one through the frontal face of the _Admiral Gorshkov_-class frigate and into the ship's CIC and two through the funnels, ensured that she was reduced to no speed. The first two ships behind the frigate were unable to stop before ramming into her. The first of those two, a _Kara_-class cruiser, near ripped off the flight deck of the frigate as her pointed bow went straight up the aft end of the frigate and bifurcated her. The second ship, another AEGIS destroyer, grazed the starboard side of the cruiser and hit the concrete wall of the breakwaters, breaking off part of her bow. The remaining three ships were able to stop before contributing to the blockage, but the damage had been done. The port was blocked, at least for now. Right on cue with that, to the western side of the AO, blue IFF signatures started appearing in the masses. Four. Then eight. Then sixteen. Trigger saw on his tactical display that there was a large number of carrier-based aircraft entering combat. Super Hornets, Lightning IIs, Growlers, even some old A-6E Intruder strike aircraft. The numbers peaked at 60 total aircraft.

'_Drake Squadron of the Federation of Central Usea Navy, entering the AO. We've got an entire air wing with us.' _The leader of Drake Squadron, callsign Kraken, reported.

_ADDITIONAL AIRCRAFT:_

_Drake Squadron: F/A-18F Super Hornet_

_Seawing Squadron: F/A-18E Super Hornet_

_Lightning Squadron: F-35C Lightning II_

_Twilight Squadron: F-35C Lightning II _

_Wendigo Squadron: F/A-18F Super Hornet _

_Hunter Squadron: F/A-18F Super Hornet _

_Mako Squadron: F/A-18E Super Hornet _

_Mansion Squadron: A-6E Intruder_

_Castle Squadron: A-6E Intruder_

_Enchanter Squadron: E/A-18G Growler_

_Wizard Squadron: E/A-18G Growler_

'_Holy shit.' _Huxian was impressed.

'_Someone's got some influence.' _So was Lanza.

'_Dig in lads, we're bombing this place to the fucking floor.' _Blaze gave brief mission orders to the FCU pilots. The sixty aircraft of their wing divided into two groups of thirty and headed to Dakiouk Bay and Anchor Bay. The group heading to Anchor Bay included both Intruder squads. Each A-6E was capable of holding twenty-eight GBU-12 bombs, and there were ten of them between Castle and Mansion Squadrons. They approached the group of ships that were blocking the port. Seawing and Wendigo Squadrons launched an attack first with Exocet anti-ship missiles to soften up the ship's defences. Two missiles from each aircraft resulted in there being twenty missiles going downrange. Most of these missiles slammed into the frigate and the cruiser which were unable to defend with SAMs due to the close proximity between the two. The salvo outright sank the frigate, destroying all the vital systems that it had left, and crippled the cruiser with many explosions causing fires and compromising weapon magazines. The path cleared, the two Intruder squads went in with their massive amounts of laser-guided bombs and went ham on the destroyer, last remaining cruiser and two frigates. The force of eighty bombs from ten aircraft crippled every single last ship there. The destroyer and frigates went up in massive explosions, their magazines compromised. The cruiser didn't fair much better with the majority of the bombs being targeted at her. The forty that hit her destroyed just about everything. The FCU aircraft peeled away from that area looking for other targets.

* * *

Back at Orca FAB, the three senior officers in the command room were bewildered. Wiseman was surprised, as was Grimm. Clemens had a blank face, but the other two could tell he was pissed.

'The FCU must have decided that we couldn't deal with the issue on our own.' Clemens spoke, his face tense. 'Your aces aren't as good as you let on to be, colonel.'

'There's only so much a single squad can do with the stuff they carry, sir.' Grimm defended them. Surely the general understood.

'Yeah. You have a point.' Clemens conceded that Grimm was right; a first for the general. 'Excuse me. I need to talk to my superiors.' Clemens excused himself and left the room.

* * *

'_I don't know why you came out to support us, but we appreciate the help. Mission is nearly complete.' _Long Caster thanked the FCU air wing for assisting the Osean aces. Blaze looked around the area. The fighters from the _Fort Grace _were sweeping up most of the targets that needed more munitions to take down than Strider or Razgriz had on them. Strider was dealing with the minor, lighter and less significant targets. Swordsman was idling around in the air, winchester on air to ground weapons.

'_It's the least we could do. Attacking ports is always a bitch.' _Phantom, Enchanter Squadron's leader, answered. At the northern side of the AO at Dakiouk Bay, Trigger and Lanza attacked and sunk an already damaged destroyer, the last remaining ship of the Erusean mothball fleet. Main objective complete, and mission technically complete. Or at least that's what Trigger believed.

'_Wait. Hypersonic projectile incoming!' _Long Caster saw something on radar and then urgently relayed that information to the fighters and attackers. Blaze looked out to sea. He decided to dash up to high altitude and egress out west. Swordsman followed. Strider Squadron and all of the FCU squads did the same. In total, 66 aircraft were moving at high speeds out to sea. _'Impact… now!' _

Fast as the shell was, Blaze saw it coming in before it made contact with the floor and exploded. It appeared to be long and narrow. Well, narrow for an object that appeared to be half the length of most common fighter aircraft. It hit the naval command centre and exploded, and the entire area was concealed briefly by a large fireball. When that fireball eventually dissipated, there was nothing left. Whatever the projectile was, it had enough energy and HE filler to annihilate entire building complexes.

'Holy fucking shit.' Blaze muttered to himself. 'Long Caster, what bearing did that come from?'

'_2-3-0. Came from the ocean.' _Long Caster answered. Blaze pondered. He knew that _Alicorn _had at least a single railgun with beyond the horizon range, but those guns didn't have warheads with that sort of destruction.

'Enchanter, I suggest you guys check on your carrier. Christ knows what's going on out there.' Blaze encouraged the FCU pilots to leave the area.

'_Second shell, incoming in ten seconds!' _Long Caster reported the approach of another shell. '_Looks like it'll be landing on the fuelling stations.' _Sure enough, there was another massive explosion and the fuel oil segment of the base went up in not-so-nuclear fire.

'_That's not the worst of our problems. One single fighter approaching. A Berkut.' _Swordsman noted. Blaze checked his own radar, and annoyingly Snow was right. A single unidentified aircraft was coming right at them. Keyword, _unidentified. _It wasn't using Erusean or Osean IFF. Blaze was alert. The last time an unknown Su-47 had been seen, he had to damage it with his cannon to ward them off. The Su-47 drew closer to the allied forces. As it got within visual range, Blaze recognised the paint scheme as the paired squad that Razgriz and Strider had encountered at Artigilo. The aircraft were hostile then. Knowing this, Blaze readied a Sidewinder and was about to fire when the pilot of the aircraft spoke.

'_Woah woah, ich bin nicht hier, um zu kampfen. __**(Woah woah, I'm not here to fight**_**)**' The pilot of the aircraft said in Belkan, Blaze's native tongue. The latter recognised the voice as the male pilot and more level-headed of the pair. The woman sounded like she was insane. Blaze didn't believe what the pilot had to say. But he listened anyway.

'Was haben sie dann hier zu tun? **(Then what are you here to do?)**' Blaze replied, also in Belkan. Snow and Strider Squadron listened and watched while Blaze and the unknown pilot talked.

'_Ihr General versucht, sie und ihr anderes geschwader zu toten. __**(Your general is trying to kill you and your other squadron.**__)_' The other pilot answered. Blaze froze for a second. The only general he knew was Brigadier-General Clemens.

'Okay, aber warum erzahlen sie uns das? **(Okay, but why are you telling us this?)**' Blaze asked. Not too long ago the same pilot had tried to kill them.

'_Weil ich weib, dass sie ein pilot mit ehre sind, etwasm das heutzutage schwer zu finden ist, und sie haben eine ganze tragflache an ihrer seite. __**(Because I know that you're a pilot with honour, something hard to come across these days, and you've got an entire wing at your side.)**_' The pilot explained. '_Und wenn ich die haltung meiner schwester ignoriere, verstehe ich sogar den grundlegenden menschilchen anstand. __**(And ignoring my sister's attitude, I actually understand basic human decency.)**_**' **

Blaze seemed to ponder on that for a moment. Honour? Well, he let off most of his injured opponents.

'Ich werd's mir merken, Herr…? **(I'll keep that in mind, sir…?**)'

'_Rage.' _

'Rage. Now go back to wherever you came from.' Blaze told the Su-47 pilot to run. The pilot understood and turned away. Blaze was fuming under the surface, although he contained his anger there in the cockpit.

'_So… what was that all about?' _Wiseman asked. No-one listening could speak Belkan aside from Blaze.

'Is Clemens with you, Wiseman?' Blaze asked calmly.

'_He is not.' _Wiseman answered, his reply almost sounding like a question.

'_He's off contacting a mercenary party on an Osean military channel, and he's been taking false intelligence from an Erusean rogue spy.' _Someone else answered what everyone was thinking, the revealing person being OIA agent David North.

'In short, the Berkuts were sent to kill us aces if the mission didn't.' Blaze summarised what he had been told and had found out.

'_That scheming son of a bitch!' _Huxian didn't sound very happy at the sound of that.

'_So now what, we just stroll in and hold him at gunpoint?' _Count asked.

'Yeah, that's what I was thinking.' Blaze replied.

'_Before any of that happens, we need to take a fuel and repairs stop at San Salvacion before heading back.' _Trigger pointed out. '_That and I need to pick up our resident mechanic.' _

'_Strider, return to vector. Razgriz, return unless you have some unfinished business.' _Long Caster gave return orders to the Osean fighters.

'Phantom, stay in touch. I suspect we'll be seeing each other again soon.' Blaze said to the Growler squadron leader.

'_Will do, Commander. See you down the track.' _Phantom answered. With his job done, Blaze formed in with Strider Squadron and prepared for the long trip from Anchorhead to San Salvacion. Clemen's reckoning had to wait until then.


	52. Chapter 50 - Down For The Count

A couple of hours later, six Osean aircraft touched down at San Salvacion Air Force Base. Air traffic around the base was busy, cargo aircraft arriving, dropping off their loads and leaving. Strike fighters - mostly Su-24s belonging to the San Salvacion Air Force - were sitting around at hangars and some of the open areas. Strider were the first few to land, taking up the landing strip with their F-15s. Snow was next, followed shortly by Alex. Everyone taxied over to the area that had been reserved for the LRSSG aircraft. Alex looked around. The city had seen better times, but the green grass and forests surrounding the area reminded him of home. Speaking of home, Alex checked his watch. It was the 10th of September. How long had he been gone for? Four months? It didn't feel like that long. Alex managed to grab a hangar space alongside Strider. The area around them was filled with the noise of jet engines idling until they all eventually shut down. Canopies all opened at once. Alex undid the harness that held him into his seat and jumped down onto the asphalt ground. Trigger, Snow, Count, Huxian and Lanza weren't far behind getting out.

Count climbed down the ladder from the cockpit of his F-15C, and the instant he hit the ground his left leg went limp. Count didn't have time to shift his weight onto his other leg before falling to the floor. He grunted on impact. Count looked at his dead leg and quickly understood what the problem was. His upper left leg was completely soaked in bright red blood.

'What the fuck?' He asked himself in a panicked state. Alex was the first to notice Count down on the floor bleeding heavily from his thigh.

'Uh-oh.' He said, dashing over to Count's side. 'Get a medic, _NOW!' _

The others saw that Count was bleeding. Huxian instantly sprinted off looking for a medic or combat life saver. Trigger and Lanza dashed over to Count and started applying pressure to the wound and the area above it to stem the bleeding. Swordsman went with Huxian looking for a medic. Alex looked at the affected area. It was still bleeding, but not very much, and from the colour of the blood and the area in which it was in, his left femoral artery had probably been cut.

'Count, how did you not notice this?' Alex asked. Any sort of laceration injury to the legs usually hurt.

'Probably the adrenaline.' Count replied. He didn't sound like he was passing out, and he didn't sound like he was in pain. Both were good signs for him, not necessarily a good sign for the LRSSG. Now two of Cyclops Squadron's pilots were out of the fight.

'_We've got a stretcher coming for him.' _Snow reported to Alex.

'Rog, make it quick.' Alex answered while still keeping pressure on the wound with one arm. He looked out to the tarmac. In the distance he saw Snow and Huxian running back, a team of medical personnel with a gurney in tow.

'I think I know what happened.' Count said, trying to sit up. Trigger and Lanza both kept him pressed to the ground, keeping his heart below his leg to make bloodflow a little more restricted.

'Do tell.' Trigger let Count explain.

'Stray bullet, probably from that one destroyer.' Count explained, right as the medics arrived. 'Played with fire too much.'

'Time to get you to a surgeon.' The leader of the medics, a captain, said. They disconnected the metal support tray from the gurney, placed it on the floor and with the help of the three Osean pilots got Count onto that tray and placed it back on the gurney. Count groaned as he was placed on the large metal tray. He laid his head back and inhaled. The LRSSG escorted him and the medics into the trauma centre that was on the base. One of the medics was analysing Count's wounds on the move.

'Shrapnel or bullet nicked the femoral artery.' The medic reported. Alex took their word for it. They were the trained professionals in that field, not him. Alex followed until they reached the trauma centre. As everyone else went into the building, he pulled Trigger aside briefly.

'Yeah?' Trigger asked. He was concerned for Count's health.

'Look after your guy. I'm going to report this back to Wiseman and Long Caster.' Alex explained what he was going to do before running off without giving Trigger a chance to say anything. The latter sighed before entering the trauma centre.

* * *

'Colonel, incoming transmission from Razgriz Squadron on line 4.' A runner from the communications unit of the squadron attached to the LRSSG reported to Wiseman and Jaeger, who were both sitting around in Wiseman's tiny office. Wiseman looked to Jaeger, and then picked up the phone that was sitting at his desk. He hit a number on the keypad that said 4 and waited for the encryption to boot. An automated voice told him that it did.

'Wiseman speaking.' Wiseman said.

'_Commander Williams speaking. We're back at San Salvacion, but there's gonna be a delay.' _Alex reported. Wiseman frowned and stood up.

'Define delay.' He asked.

'_Count's injured. He took some flak from the ground. He's not long gone into the trauma centre.' _Alex explained. Wiseman and Jaeger shared glances with each other. Wiseman sighed sadly. He placed one hand on the table.

'How bad?' He asked.

'_I'm no doctor, but it looked pretty bad. There was a lot of blood.' _Alex reported. Jaeger grunted in sympathy of pain. Wiseman pondered for a moment.

'I need at least most of you back here. See if anyone can stay with him. I'll cover for whoever stays behind.' Wiseman ordered.

'_Will do, Wiseman. I'll take my leave unless there's anything that's popped up.' _Alex was about to leave.

'No, nothing.' Wiseman said.

'_Alright. Signing off, I'll be in touch if anything develops.' _The line cut, and Wiseman was left in the room with his own thoughts and Jaeger sitting in a chair across from him. The latter had a blank face.

'So... ' Jaeger began to speak. 'How long do you think Count will be down for?'

'A week until he's on his feet, at least. And then I'd guess six before the doctors give him back his wings.' Wiseman threw his guess out there.

'Farbanti operation is in a week and a half.' Jaeger told him.

'I know.'

* * *

Back at the trauma centre at San Salvacion, the deployed LRSSG members were sitting around in the lobby, waiting for a report on Count's condition. Trigger was pacing around the lobby impatiently. Avril was sitting in one of the provided seats, looking around anxiously. Lanza had his head in his hands. Huxian looked straight ahead at the wall opposite her emotionlessly. There were damp streaks around her eyes, although she had denied that she had shed tears. Snow stood against a wall, arms crossed. A door opened. Everyone looked in the direction of the noise. It was Alex.

'How's he looking?' Alex asked Trigger as he approached the group.

'Still waiting for a report.' Trigger replied, ceasing his pacing to talk to the senior officer.

'We don't have much time to wait. Wiseman wants us back at base ASAP. Any volunteers to watch him?' Alex explained the situation, hands on his hips. If no-one volunteered to stay with Count, he would do it himself. He didn't have to in the long run.

'I'll stay.' Huxian said the instant after Alex had asked for volunteers. Everyone looked at her. She didn't return any of the glances, instead staring straight ahead.

'Alright. The rest of you, mount up.' Alex ordered. Everyone made a beeline towards the door. Alex was the last out about to leave.

'Commander?' Huxian called him. Alex stopped and turned around, listening. Huxian was staring at him. 'When you see Clemens, give him hell.'

Alex nodded in acknowledgement and left the lobby. Huxian was then left alone.

The remainder of the squadron - Alex, Snow, Trigger and Lanza - returned to their aircraft. There were now only two F-15 pilots that would be returning. Trigger felt guilty. Fencer's accident at base was just that, an accident. But Count's injury, he felt he could have prevented if he had been faster to destroy the significant threats.

'Don't feel bad Trigger, freak incidents like that are out of your control.' Snow said to him while Trigger was in the middle of his thoughts. Trigger glanced towards the older veteran.

'Yeah, I know.' Trigger replied dejectedly. 'Would have been worse without that wing's support.'

'Aye. It's good that Blaze pulled some strings.' Snow agreed.

'He know someone high up in the FCU?' Trigger asked. A commander obtaining support from an entire carrier was rare.

'No, most people respect him.' Snow said. Trigger shrugged. It made sense to him. The four arrived at the hangar their aircraft were stored in. Avril was waiting for them, flight suit on and all. She noticed that the group was missing two particular pilots.

'Where's Count and Huxian?' She asked.

'Count's in the ER, Huxian is watching over him.' Alex said bluntly. Avril shrivelled up a little when she understood the implications of what he had just said. Alex put his helmet on and stepped up into the cockpit of his aircraft. The others also did the same. Trigger mounted the pilots seat of his F-15E while Avril got into the WSO's seat and strapped in. Once all four pilots were ready, engines started and the combined squad of Razgriz and Strider started their taxi procedure. On the takeoff there was little said between the tower and the squadron. Once they were in the air there was no talk at all. Everyone preserved their silence as they pointed towards Los Canas and shot forward. From Los Canas they would be returning to base.

* * *

**Three hours later**

**Orca Forward Air Base**

Grimm, Mythic, Wiseman, Jaeger, Skald and Tailor were all in the armoury, preparing for the act they were about to commit.

'Black Order Officer Terminus has been passed by the Joint Chief of Staff. Brigadier-General Howard Clemens is to be arrested on the count of treason against the Osean Federation.' Wiseman said to the pilots and Military Police in the armoury. The pilots had their service sidearms issued, M9A3 pistols, while the MPs were issued their M4A1 carbines.

'About time. That guy is an asshole.' Skald was happy to be able to arrest the general and not get reprimanded for it. Outside the building, the sound of jet engines could be heard. Razgriz and Strider were back. Wiseman had issued orders to the ground crew to tell the pilots to get to the command room ASAP.

'Mythic, Tailor, look after Fencer. I don't want any of Clemen's guards to come after him.' Grimm ordered the two most junior officers to protect their injured.

'Will do.' Tailor acknowledged, dragging along Mythic with him to go to the medical ward. The rest of them left the armoury and crossed to the other side of the building to carry out their act. The pilots and MPs travelled in a perfectly organised two person-wide line with Wiseman and Grimm at the lead of the formation. Wiseman had a sheet of faxed paper in his hands while Grimm had his pistol hanging by his side. They arrived at the door to the command room. Wiseman opened the door and the formation went in. Inside were two members of the comms group and General Clemens. Clemens saw the squad enter but didn't notice that everyone was armed until a couple of seconds later. He was about to say something when Wiseman cut him off.

'Sergeant, are we connected?' Wiseman said to one of the commo NCOs.

'We are, sir.' The sergeant answered.

'Good. You can take your leave now.' Wiseman told them. The sergeant and the younger corporal stood up and left the room, closing the doors behind them. Once they were gone. The pilots and MPs spread out around Wiseman and pointed their weapons at Clemens.

'What's going on here? MPs, arrest these men for brandishing firearms at me.' Clemens asked angrily and ordered the MPs. They didn't budge.

'_Belay that order.' _A voice came through the open communications channel. This wasn't David North, although if one looked at the program that was running they would see that North was connected to the call.

'General Edwards, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?' Clemens asked. The Vice Chairman of the JCS was one of the highest ranking positions in the military across all three branches.

'_The Alicorn slipped into Anchorhead Bay after the mission was completed, using the confusion for cover. They resupplied quickly and escaped unharmed.' _Edwards explained. '_Their goal was not to join forces. It was to resupply using the window we created by chasing away the Erusean forces. We did their bidding, albeit unknowingly. But our problem runs deeper than our lack of tactical accument. Agent North, explain the situation for him.' _

'_Of the crew caught in the submarine accident, 330 made it back alive. Of them, 300 are still on the sub today. Our intel suggests that some or all of those 30 men are working as agents for the Alicorn. Sabotage, espionage, cyber propaganda, dissemination of false intel.' _North laid out the situation in front of everyone. '_Brigadier General, do you recognise the name Edgar Saxton? Or Zul, as he used to go by. He is a former member of the Alicorn's crew, and your source of intel.'_

'_You are a fool, Brigadier-General Clemens. Not only that, prior radio communications suggest you were conspiring with a third party to shoot down all members of the LRSSG. You are a traitor.' _Edwards took over from North.

'Sir, if you contact Lieutenant-General Shepherd, you'll see that this is all-'

'_General Shepherd claims that you were responsible for handling all aspects of the mission.' _Edwards cut Clemens off. Right at that point, Alex, Trigger, Lanza and Swordsman entered the room with all of their equipment on.

'You guys seem to be onto everything.' Alex commented in a angry tone. He was pissed.

'_Captain Williams, welcome.' _Edwards welcomed Alex to the scene.

'Thank you sir.' Alex replied. They had met before, during the Circum-Pacific War.

'_Now, get the MPs.' _Edwards said in a dangerous tone.

'Oh, no need for that.' Alex said, barging through the crowd with guns surrounding Clemens. He took off his flight gloves. 'This one's for Count.'

Quick as a rattlesnake, Alex swung his right fist at Clemen's head, _hard._

* * *

Sometime later, the remaining LRSSG pilots were seated in the briefing room. Finally, Clemens was gone and they could go back to their original operations tempo. There was a sound on the computer as a third party connected. David North.

'_We've acquired important intel from the mission.' _He started. _'For example, the shells that struck the base came in on a depressed trajectory. Look at this. The estimated output of this railgun is projected at five hundred megajoules. Max range is somewhere in the ballpark of three thousand kilometres. They hid a powerful railgun aside from their main guns.' _

'Fucking hell. What sort of projectiles can that thing fire?' Alex asked. A gun like that was the most powerful weapon he had ever seen on a mobile platform.

'_Onto that. The Alicorn was spotted at Anchorhead for roughly ten minutes. They couldn't have loaded SLBMs. They loaded something smaller. Tactical nuclear shells.'_

'Nuclear shells?!' Skald didn't like the sound of that.

'They'll likely attack our bases in Usea on the eastern coast.' Wiseman guessed from the intel they had been given.

'_Their target is Oured, the Osean capital.' _North corrected Wiseman.

'They want a nuclear war?' Lanza didn't like the sound of _that_.

'_Here's a question. What's a situation where nuclear deterrence doesn't work?' _North posed a question to the LRSSG.

'Come on, haven't we had enough questions?' Mythic was sick of the quiz show.

'Oh! Only if terrorists have the nukes.' Skald answered.

'_Correct.' _Skald was right.

'Damn Skald.' Lanza complimented him.

'Hey, I'm good at trivia games.' Skald replied.

'So we're after a rogue Yuktobanian-turned-Erusean super-submarine. Fucking hell.' Alex said. Another wild goose chase.

'_They intend to drop a nuke on the Osean capital.' _North explained the final situation.

'Here's a question for you, analyst. Just who are we fighting?' Jaeger posed a question to the OIA analyst for once.

'_The correct term is terrorist, or irregular military. But I have a different name for them. An enemy to be stopped at all costs.' _


	53. Chapter 51 - Ten Million Relief Plan

Snow was back in the cockpit of his F-14D in cloudy blue skies. To each side of him was an entire wing's worth of aircraft. The aircraft immediately surrounding him were pilots he knew; Blaze, Grimm and Mythic of Razgriz. The next row of aircraft over from him was Strider. Past them there were aircraft that he didn't recognise instantly. Emmerians? They were a pair of dark grey F-15Es with the REAF flag. Another collection of aces he knew combined with some he didn't; Cipher in his F-15C, Mobius 1 in his F-22, someone in an Su-35 and another someone in an Su-57. There were many more aircraft than that, but Snow and the rest of them were approaching an extremely tall tower. The Space Elevator.

'_We all know the score and what's at stake. All squadrons engage!' _Snow heard Long Caster's voice.

'_Razgriz, engaging!' _Blaze.

'_Strider, engaging.' _Trigger.

'_Garuda, engaging!' _An unknown female voice.

'_Spare, engaging!' _An unknown male voice.

There were plenty of other squadron leaders who announced they were engaging, but many of them Snow didn't know. There was one aircraft they were after, a large UCAV. Razgriz split off to engage it on their own. The UCAV faced them and looked at Snow in particular. A red glow came from a pod under the UCAV. A beam came out of that pod, heading directly for him. Snow raised his arms to block the light-

**September 14th, 2019**

**Orca Forward Air Base, Usea**

-And suddenly he found himself back in the present day with someone poking at his ribs.

'Hmm?' He asked. Snow had fallen asleep in his chair while waiting for the briefing to be set up. Alex had been elbowing him to wake him up.

'North just got back. Briefing's about to start.' Alex said, arms now crossed. He had his flight uniform on, anticipating the start of flight operations soon. The entire LRSSG's flight element pilots capable of flying were in the room - Blaze, Grimm, Mythic, Swordsman, Trigger, Lanza, Jaeger, Tailor, Skald and Wiseman - alongside quite a few unfamiliar faces. Some were pilots from the FCU's _Fort Grace, _including Enchanter Squadron and Drake Squadron. Another section of new pilots belonged to the Osean Navy; pilots and aircrew for the P-1 maritime patrol aircraft of Spectre Squadron. On the screen at the front of the briefing room, there were icons indicating that other people were connected to the brief aside from the OIA agent. Chief among them, Admiral Jenson, commander of the OMDF's 1st Fleet.

'_Agent North, we're all ready here. Begin your briefing.' _The admiral ordered North.

'_The Erusean military finally sent part of the Alicorn's specs. Its basic capabilities listed here are as we predicted. What's interesting is this over here. In addition to main guns, they have a 600-millimetre, 128-caliber rail cannon. The barrel exceeds 70 metres in length. It's range is over 3000 kilometres. That matches the calculations given by the Fort Grace's air defence commander.' _North began the briefing.

'70 metres. That's half the length of an AEGIS destroyer.' Mythic commented. Something like that wasn't quite as big as a Stonehenge railgun, but it was still massive all the same.

'_Indeed. The mini-nuke they seem to have obtained has a yield of one kiloton. It'll destroy anything within a four-hundred metre radius of ground zero. Casualties in an urban area are estimated to be in the tens of thousands.' _North mentioned the damage the warhead that the _Alicorn _was carrying could do.

'I know some things are better left unsaid. But that's less damage than I expected.' Skald piped up.

'_Nice catch. Let me play this speech.' _North answered, playing an .mp3 file. The voice was of Captain Matias Torres, CO of the _Alicorn. _

'_This boat has the means to end this hideous war, in a definite and elegant manner. The world shall be horrified by the number of lives we will take. Only then will they let go of their weapons. Weapons that would have taken the lives of ten million.' _Torres' speech followed as such. Alex scoffed. The man sounded like a maniac, and it didn't help that his voice sounded like it was going through a metallic space.

'_The imagery invoked by those words and the actual predicted damage just don't match.' _North began speaking again. '_Alicorn will fire its nuke on September 19th.' _

'That's a pretty specific date. Why are you so sure?' Alex questioned. In an unopposed ocean with such a long-ranged weapon, the _Alicorn _could easily get into firing range before then.

'_Because that's the date of the anniversary of the end of the Continental War. Anti-war demonstrations are in full swing in Oured. There's about a million participants in total. That number will skyrocket on the anniversary.' _North explained. Alex bit his tongue. North had a solid point. Alex remembered last year's anti-war demonstrations. The entire capital had been packed with people looking to spread a message. '_However, the nuke they have isn't that powerful. They'd have to thread through the eye of a needle to achieve their desired result.' _

'Terminal guidance.' Snow guessed.

'_We detected SLUAV launches just before the Alicorn started shelling Anchorhead. Maybe they're planning on using them to provide guidance.' _Captain Powers, CO of the _Fort Grace _who was connected to the briefing mentioned.

'AEGIS Ashore systems are set up all along the eastern seaboard. They won't get close before getting nailed by interceptors or coastal defence systems.' Alex didn't think that would be the case. He knew from experience that SLUAVs used by the Yukes and the Eruseans weren't stealthy.

'_And GPS guidance is too unreliable. We'll have to figure this out later.' _Admiral Jenson said.

'_Yes. Alright, look at this. The Alicorn's expected course. We know it was off Anchorhead Bay and it has to get to Oured within range before September 19th. They must also avoid being detected by Osea and allied sonar barriers and warships. Taking into account its maximum operating depth, this is the only possible route.' _

Snow clicked his fingers in recognition. 'The Azalea sea mountain chain. A shallow body of water just before the PX80443 region. If they go into the Peony Trench, we'll lose all ability to track her.'

Skald looked at Snow in confusion. 'Swordsman, how the hell do you know that?' He asked.

'I was part of the rescue team that recovered the crew of the _Valiant. _Peony is filled with giant iron deposits that disrupt the magnetosphere.' Snow explained how he knew that.

'_Swordsman, you are correct. We also know roughly when Alicorn will enter the area.' _North started speaking again.

'Now that's a bit of a far stretch, quiz man. We never detected the _Alicorn _past Operation Sighthound. How are we meant to know when she's passing through?' Trigger now asked a question.

'_That's… not necessarily correct, captain.' _Admiral Jenson corrected Trigger. '_We've had a submarine tracking the Alicorn ever since she left Artigilo a couple of weeks ago. The OFS Diana.' _Trigger frowned. Alex was left dumbfounded.

'So you're telling us that we've been keeping tabs on her this entire time and we never acted on it?' Alex asked, annoyed. So much less effort could have been used to end the threat earlier if things had gone ideally.

'_Diana is operated by crewmembers from the National Reconnaissance Office. Their operations are classified at Level Zero. We didn't realise the sensitivity of that information until it was revealed the Alicorn went rogue. I apologise, but that's how our intelligence gathering community works.' _Jenson explained and apologised. Alex stood down. He knew how secretive the NRO was. '_And before you ask why don't we have a live location of the Alicorn, the Diana had to break her pursuit to respond to our tasking.'_

'Right. LRSSG, here are the mission details, listen up.' Wiseman took over the briefing. 'Our mission is to cooperate with Spectre Squadron to find the _Alicorn. _In the first phase of the mission, they will build a sonobuoy barrier. In the second phase we narrow down the possible location of the _Alicorn _by analysing the data obtained from the sonobuoys. The results of our analysis will be data linked and shown on an overlay on your radars. And for the final phase, Blaze, you'll be looking for the submarine. You're the best acquainted with the MAD device knocked up by our friends from the FCU.'

'Will do.' Alex acknowledged.

'Once the sub is found, our task force will commence a unified attack with ASROCs and sink it.' Wiseman finished.

'And what if we miss…?' Lanza asked.

'_If the Alicorn escapes, the president has authorised usage of tactical nuclear weapons to destroy her. Briefing dismissed. You don't have all the time in the world.' _Jenson dismissed the briefing. Alex stood up first, helmet in hand, followed by everyone else. He looked around the room, observing all of the pilots. Alex was expecting casualties. The _Alicorn _was the hardest target they had ever fought. Some of his thoughts went to Strider and Cyclops Squadrons. Both were understrength, Count from Strider and Huxian from Cyclops. That train of thought made him think, how was Count fairing all the way back at San Salvacion?

* * *

Trigger found himself asking that question as he, Lanza and Jaeger walked down the flightline all the way to the hangars. It had been four days since he had been injured. He had received a letter from Huxian saying that his surgery had been successful and he was recovering.

Huxian.

The rough, confident and hardened lady of the LRSSG. It had surprised Trigger a lot when he swore he saw her shed a tear over Count's injury, even if she had denied those tears ever came. He shook his head in amusement and chuckled. She _cared. _

'What's so funny, Trigger?' Lanza asked as they walked down the runway.

'Did Huxian ever strike you as someone to fall for Count?' Trigger rebuked Lanza with a question of his own.

'Well, he has his charm I guess.' Lanza answered. Trigger noded. He agreed. Trigger checked his watch. It was currently 12PM. They would be taking a few hours to cross the continent and get to the area where the _Alicorn _was supposed to be. Trigger sighed for the second time that day. It was going to be a grueling trip and an even more grueling fight.

* * *

**Oured, Osea**

**Osean Intelligence Agency Headquarters, Office 501, 6th Floor**

Lieutenant-Colonel Lucy Hunter sat patiently in an office chair in a moderately-sized office fitting for the agents of the OIA. In front of her was a mess of paper. The topics of the papers varied, but they all had one thing in common. They originated from Grunder Industries in some way or another. She felt the need to sneeze. She did so into the crook of her left elbow. When she put her head back up, David North had entered the office.

'My bad, that meeting was urgent.' North apologised for his absence. 'Colonel, I heavily advise that you leave the capital as soon as possible.'

'Leave? What's the matter?' Hunter asked calmly. She knew better than to panic if something was threatening the capital.

'Let's just say that there might be a nuclear shell slamming into the centre of town between now and the next few days.' North summarised.

'If you put it that way.' Hunter stood up and organised her papers, packing them into a bag. She noticed that North wasn't packing anything away. 'You're not leaving?'

'I need to find out what sort of terminal guidance the _Alicorn _is using, and that involves me staying here. I'll contact security to get you to the airport.' North explained, looking out his office window. Even from the administrative centre of the city, he could see the effects of the commotion of an extra million people being in Oured.

* * *

**PX80443 Region, Spring Sea**

_AIRCRAFT:_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Razgriz 3/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 4/Mythic: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Jaeger: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Lanza: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 1/Wiseman: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 2/Skald: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 3/Tailor: F-15C Eagle_

_Enchanter Squadron: E/A-18G Growler_

_Drake Squadron: F/A-18F Super Hornet_

_Maze Squadron: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Spectre Squadron: P-1_

It had been 12 in the afternoon when the LRSSG and other supporting aircraft had departed from base. It was now 4:30PM and the sun was making a beautiful scene peering through the clouds. For Blaze however, the sunset wasn't a pleasant reminder. They had a job to do, and it had to be done urgently. Right now they were halfway between the Usean and Osean continents, the closest that Blaze had been to his home country in quite some time.

'_Hey captain,' _Grimm struck up a conversation with Blaze while they were moving to PX80443. '_If you think about it, this is the second time we've had to save the capital from a nuke.' _

Blaze thought about that. The first time was the SOLG back in 2010.

'If I had a penny for every time we've saved Osea from nuclear attacks…' Blaze mused. He, Grimm and Snow laughed together. Blaze stopped laughing suddenly. He refocused on the mission at hand.

'_All squadrons, begin operation. It's time to go treasure hunting.' _Long Caster ordered. Razgriz formed up ahead of Spectre 1 to protect the ASW aircraft vital to the operation. They passed over the naval task force below them; FCU ships _Tea Time _and _Pioneer_, and the OMDF ships _Canary, Grebe, Rooster _and _Seagull. _Cyclops would be protecting Spectre 2 and Maze Spectre 3. Strider, Drake and Enchanter would be engaging any hostile aircraft that appeared to oppose them ahead of time.

'_David, how many aircraft can the Alicorn carry?' _Wiseman asked pertaining to the possible numbers of hostile aircraft.

'_Depends on the composition, anywhere from twenty to thirty, but that's unconfirmed intel. With Three Strikes, you could reduce them to a single digit!' _David replied. The commotion in the background of his radio suggested that he was outside somewhere.

'_This is Spectre 1. Preparing to form sonobuoy barrier. We're all here to buy the farm.' _Spectre 1 reported, joking around to lighten the mood.

'_Speaking of aircraft, hostile aircraft approaching, dead ahead. They're definitely from the Alicorn!' _Long Caster reported the existence of _Alicorn_-based aircraft. Blaze checked his tactical display. A formation of six Rafale M fighters were right in front of them. Strider took the initiative by firing first with AMRAAMs. Their missiles shot off into the distant sun. With the engagement mode they picked, the Rafales didn't see the missiles coming until it was too late. Of the six, four were shot out of the skies by the first salvo. The remaining two went evasive to get away from the burning corpses of their allies. It didn't save them in the long run. One of the two was hit by another AMRAAM and turnt into a crisp while Trigger pounced on the last Rafale in a dogfight and tore it open with a quick and precise gun burst. As the last Rafale was destroyed, another wave of hostiles appeared on radar.

'_New incoming bogeys. UAVs.' _Long Caster called them out. This time, Drake Squadron took on the new attackers. AMRAAMs were fired at them. They didn't evade. Blaze saw the eight UAVs disappear on radar, destroyed and sent into the waters below. None of them had attempted to evade. It took a few seconds for Blaze to understand why. Enchanter Squadron, the Growler pilots, were jamming the radars of the attacking fighters. As a result, they couldn't see when the missiles were coming. In that moment, Blaze wished he had had EW support in all of his previous engagements. They were going to need it now, because a lot more aircraft started to appear on radar. A combination of Rafale Ms and SLUAVs, and a lot of them.

'_Oh shit. Long Caster, we're not gonna be able to jam all of them.' _Phantom informed the AWACS. Blaze checked the tactical map again. Seven aircraft against twenty-four. That wasn't going to end well for the Oseans.

'Razgriz, press the enemy. No-one breaks the line.' Blaze ordered, moving forward the throttle and going into afterburner to get closer to the enemy. Grimm, Snow and Mythic followed shortly behind. 'Enchanter, jam out the Rafale aircraft.'

'_Doin' it.' _Phantom answered. A moment later, the twelve Rafales were jammed up and unable to track the Oseans on their radars. They also couldn't see the missiles coming straight at them. The twelve AMRAAMs fired by Razgriz destroyed all of their targets, which left the oncoming twelve UAVs to deal with. Maze Squadron dealt with them, using the big stealthy missile pods containing many AMRAAMs and Sidewinders. Enchanter shifted their jamming to encompass the SLUAVs, but by the time that Maze's AMRAAMs had reached the first wave, that jamming hadn't overwritten their radar signals yet. Some of the UAVs evaded the missile wave and kept coming towards the Osean patrol aircraft. Blaze came shooting at the surviving UAVs like a missile, guns blazing. He strafed and brought down two of the five survivors in his first run, and took down two more in the second. The fifth and last UAV was taken out by a Sidewinder fired by Mythic. The radar was now clear of any aerial hostiles.

'_Sonobuoy barrier, 50% complete.' _Spectre 1 reported. The patrol aircraft had crossed the entire AO. Now they needed to turn around and go back to the other side. Blaze checked the status of the MAD that he was carrying underneath his Su-33's belly. It was alive but currently inactive. It would remain that way until Spectre dropped its remaining sonobuoys.

* * *

**Oured, Osea**

David North was running down the many streets that the capital city possessed, moving towards the edge of the massive crowd of demonstrators. He had been running at a quick pace for just over an hour. North was in good shape, but he did feel a little puffed. Luckily for him, he had arrived at his destination. Unluckily for him, things in the city weren't so peaceful. Different groups of people were fighting. What over, he had no idea. North looked up. There were all sorts of banners flying in places. On buildings, on large vehicles, even on quadcopter drones that were hovering high up above. Near him, there was a flash of fire. Someone had brought molotov cocktails. The fire sent the crowd into a panic and hundreds, thousands of people went running. North ducked into a nearby alley to avoid being trampled by the oncoming horde of people.

'Do you guys have a moment?' David spoke into his earpiece. He was still connected to the radio channel the LRSSG were using.

'_What's up?' _Grimm answered him. David could hear jet engine noises in the background.

'The demonstrators have clashed!' David had to yell to get above the noise. 'People are running away! There's a lot of banners being held up! There's even some being dragged along by advertising drones!'

'_Wait, you're still in Oured?!' _Jaeger was surprised that the OIA agent was still in the city under threat.

'Well yeah, I live here! And I still need to crack the terminal guidance issue!' North answered. Why wouldn't he be in the capital?

'_I meant, why aren't you evacuating?' _Jaeger corrected his phrasing.

'You guys aren't running away, are you?' David defended his reasoning. He was confident that the LRSSG could handle the _Alicorn. _

'_No, we are not.' _Wiseman answered that question.

'_We'd all be fucked if we did.' _Blaze also answered it a second after Wiseman did. North looked up at the skies again. The crowd was still running in the streets, but the drones weren't. They were staying perfectly still, only moving to correct any deviation caused by the wind. That made David think.

'Running… they're not running.' He muttered to himself. Something clicked. 'Yeah, those drones aren't running!'

'_What do you mean, 'those drones aren't running'?' _Trigger asked. He hadn't been paying attention to the conversation and had only just started listening.

'I'll call you back!' David disconnected from the radio channel briefly and switched to the channel that he and an AI program he had created used to communicate. 'Alex, I need you to check on something!'

* * *

Back at the site of action, Strider stomped through a squadron of UAVs that had just appeared from somewhere under the ocean. Trigger took out two of them on a gun pass, while Lanza and Jaeger both downed one each with Sidewinders. The newest threat was stomped just like that. Blaze watched this happen from above. The _Alicorn _was definitely nearby. Those aircraft wouldn't be here otherwise. Blaze fell out of formation and dropped rapidly until he was just above sea level. He was ready for whenever Spectre finished laying the sonobuoy barrier and data-linked it to the fighters. Blaze flew around a group of islands for a couple of minutes impatiently, waiting for that report so they could start Phase II of the operation.

'_Sonobuoy barrier, 90% complete.' _Spectre reported. Blaze looked around the area. Nothing he could see visually. When he looked back to his radar, there were new contacts. Two groups of five, both approaching from different vectors. SLUAVs.

'_All aircraft be advised, new hostiles approaching!' _Long Caster reported this a couple of seconds after Blaze had seen it. Drake went after the group to the north-east while Maze went for the north-west group. Enchanter jammed the north-east UAVs first so that Drake could take them on more easily. This came at a cost to Maze. When the F-14s fired at the SLUAVs, they didn't have their radar jammed and they used their maneuverability to evade the oncoming missiles, all while the two opposing squadrons drew closer to each other. The F-14s got into a dogfight, one of the things that the Tomcat had a disadvantage in. From his position, Blaze saw two of the SLUAVs go down, but then one of the Tomcats went up in flames.

'_I'm hi-' _Maze 3 screamed before dying when his aircraft was hit by a second missile. Cyclops came out to help the outmatched Tomcats. One more UAV went down, but another Tomcat was lost in return, bringing Maze Squadron down to two aircraft. The squad leader went into a turning battle with one of the surviving UAVs, a failing battle. The UAV easily got around Maze 1 and was about to get a killing shot when it was hit by a Sidewinder from another angle and turned into a fireball. Skald shot over and fired a small burst from his cannon, successfully killing the other UAV that was tailing Maze 2.

'_Thanks for the assist, Cyclops.' _Maze 1 thanked Cyclops Squadron.

'_All sonobuoys dropped. Barrier complete. Analysis completed, data-linking the Alicorn's navigable zones.' _Spectre finally reported as Maze and Drake Squadrons dealt with the incoming UAVs. Blaze looked around. It was finally his time to get to work.

'_Roger that. Blaze, I'm sending you the search area on the tactical display. All other aircraft, combat air patrol!' _Long Caster reported to Blaze and ordered the rest to protect him from air attack. Blaze checked his display. Indeed, a green circle had appeared near the north-eastern quadrant of the AO. He pushed his engines to the max output they could create without using afterburners and moved on. Razgriz formed up a few kilometres behind him. Blaze dropped to a hundred metres over the ocean's surface and slowed down once he was in the search area. A button click later and the MAD was active and in search mode. All Blaze had to do was guide his aircraft over the area and look for any disruptions that indicated a giant piece of metal was present. Blaze flew straight down the middle of the search area. The waveform that was at the top of his HUD peaked slightly to the right. Blaze banked slightly to the right and pressed on. The waveform continued to peak and get stronger. The _Alicorn _was close, very close. As Blaze crossed over a certain point, the waveform reached an all-time high peak and pinned the position of a giant submarine at that peak. They had found the _Alicorn. _As Blaze cleared where the _Alicorn's _bow would have been underwater, the MAD started reading off random and extremely powerful signals. The _Alicorn's _magnetic signature disappeared from the MAD.

'I've lost the signature. The MAD is reading strong noise in the water!' Blaze reported to Long Caster.

'_Shit! They predicted we'd use a MAD.' _David North reappeared on radio. '_Does anyone see the source of the noise on the ocean surface? It likely looks like a buoy.' _Blaze turned on his IRST pod and turned back towards where the _Alicorn _had been. Indeed, Blaze's headset filled with dull beeps as it picked up numerous things that were producing an abnormally high amount of heat. Unlike the last couple of times he had used the IRST, the objects being detected by the system weren't barrel-looking things, they were some sort of buoy, kind of like the ones that one would find surrounding high tsunami-risk areas.

'_I don't have a window, so I don't know about buoys, but I'm detecting strong radio signals.' _Long Caster reported. Blaze was well ahead of the AWACS today and began shooting at the buoys with his cannon. The burst tore apart the buoy, but then there was an explosion and a massive splash of water that shot up into the sky.

'What the-?' Blaze was about to ask but quickly understood why. '_Alicorn _will try to use those explosions for cover and move out at speed. All squads, destroy those buoys!' There were seven buoys. Blaze had destroyed one and quickly moved to kill another two. Trigger quickly came around and attacked the other buoys, destroying one. Mythic dived on one and destroyed it, the water from the explosion coming up and spraying on the canopy of her Typhoon. Tailor fired a couple of bursts at the sixth, missing with the first burst and hitting with the second. The final buoy was destroyed by Grimm who went overkill on it by firing a Hellfire at it. All of the buoys were gone and the waveform on Blaze's MAD went back to normal.

'_Spectre, what's the situation underwater?' _Long Caster asked. They needed another bearing on the _Alicorn _so the nearby task force could make chase.

'_Standby. Explosion echos are drowning out all other noise.' _Spectre 1 answered. The crew on that P-1 were listening closely for any sign of noise coming from the sub. A few tense seconds passed. Blaze was following where he thought the _Alicorn _had gone at just above stall speed. _Come on, come on, give me a report, _Blaze thought impatiently. There were a few seconds of silence.

'_Spectre, what's going on?' _Lanza asked nervously.

'_Analysis complete, data linking.' _Spectre 1 finally replied. Another search area appeared on the tactical display. The edge of the new zone was on Blaze's position. He had successfully predicted where the submarine had gone. Blaze was about to begin the second search when he saw something appear from the water off his right side. SLUAVs, six of them. There wasn't time to shoot them down. Blaze _had _to get a bearing on the _Alicorn _so the task force could take it down. He flew in the direction of the waveform peak. The SLUAVs saw him flying along and came to intercept. Blaze heard a radar lock warning in his headset. He kept going in a straight line, popping chaff and flares to misdirect them for a precious few seconds. The lock was broken for a second and then regained. Blaze pushed his engines as far as they would go without disorientating the MAD. The lock warning went to a sharp constant tone. Missile incoming. The waveform indicator peaked, and a lock on the _Alicorn _was made.

'COME ON!' Blaze yelled to himself, popping flares, pushing the throttle all the way forward and yanking up on the stick to avoid the missile. The missile barely passed underneath him as Blaze began a 90-degree climb straight up into the sky. The SLUAVs followed him in the climb, preparing for another missile launch. Luckily, the rest of Razgriz was behind him and the attackers. Snow fired at a pair of them, as did Grimm and Mythic respectively. The distance was too close to evade, and all six were shot down. Seeing that his six had been cleared, Blaze levelled out and returned to formation with his squad. They moved away from the area where the Alicorn was.

'_Alicorn has been found. Task Force Hammer, you are clear to fire.' _Long Caster informed the naval task force of six, their ships sitting a bare five kilometres away from where the _Alicorn _was located.

'_Beginning ASW operations.' _The captain of the OFS _Canary, _the lead cruiser of the task force, replied. The six ships in their formation prepared to fire. VLS cells opened, revealing the VL-ASROC missiles in those tubes. The four Osean ships all fired two ASROCs each, while the two FCU ships fired one and one. The ten rockets pushed away from the ships, smoke trails forming behind them. They were powered by a rocket booster all the way to the drop zone. The warheads, Mark 54 torpedoes, detached from the boosters once they burned out and popped a parachute, where they would fall into the water and then go after the _Alicorn. _A few hundred metres away from where the ASROCs had hit the water, there was a splash of water indicating an explosion underwater. Not too far away from the first was another explosion. And then another. And then another. There was a line of ten explosions, all along a similar line. The water stopped spraying upwards and for a moment there was peace except for the sounds of jet engines.

That peace was broken when hundreds of thousands of tons of seawater was pushed out of the way as a four hundred metre-long submarine breached the surface. Her surfacing was violent and sudden. Near the back of the submarine, there were some panels that looked like they had been caved in. At least one or two torpedoes had hit the _Alicorn. _Two things happened. Firstly, the _Alicorn _changed her course to point towards the task force and increased her speed. Secondly, weapon mounts started appearing from protected cavities in the hull. She was preparing for surface combat.

'_The Alicorn has surfaced!' _Long Caster reported to the aircraft waiting around in the skies.

'_Surfaced? She didn't sink?!' _Lanza was both surprised and horrified that the _Alicorn _had taken ten torpedoes. Trigger didn't waste time with words or emotion. The _Alicorn _had to die. He pressed his F-15E into afterburners and shot towards the sub with Mavericks loaded for bear. Trigger aimed for the one secondary railgun that was still operational. The CIWS batteries on the _Alicorn's _bow and flanks locked onto him as he approached. Ignoring the 20mm shells that started coming out at him, Trigger waited until he had a solid shot on the railgun and then fired off a single AGM-65. The CIWS disengaged Trigger and swiveled to fire at the incoming missile, but it didn't have time to engage before that Maverick slammed into the railgun housing and destroyed it. There was a flash of fire that Trigger spotted as he shot over at near-supersonic speeds. Another thing Trigger spotted was the salvo of missiles that were fired from VLS systems on the _Alicorn, _anti-ship missiles heading for the friendly warships. Luckily for the task force, five of the six ships had the AEGIS system. _Canary _took the lead in the air denial role and fired off several salvos of Enhanced Sea Sparrow Missiles, ESSMs, to intercept and destroy the incoming missiles. The destroyers _Seagull _and _Grebe _followed with their own ESSMs, working with each other via the CEC system to prioritise the different targets. This worked well, and in short order all of the anti-ship missiles the _Alicorn _fired were shot down. Next the sub used weapons that the task force couldn't easily counter. Torpedoes.

'Strider, hit her ballast tanks!' Trigger called out to his squad, coming back around for another run. This time he would be using his GBU-12s to target the vital spaces. Trigger climbed, chased by AA fire as he ascended, and then dived on his target. At a few hundred metres above the ocean surface, Trigger dropped one bomb, adjusted his course slightly to one side and then dropped another bomb. He levelled out to evade Sea Sparrows that were launched at him. The two bombs fell towards the _Alicorn, _penetrated the flanks of the bow of the boat and opened two of the frontal ballast tanks to the ocean. Behind him, Razgriz followed up the attack with Blaze using cluster bombs to tear open the hull, the two Typhoon pilots firing Hellfire missiles into the various gun mounts threatening the aircraft and the ships and Snow dropping a pair of GBUs on the flightdeck of the sub, cratering it and putting one of the catapults out of action. Out towards the bow of the _Alicorn, _the bows of two ships were thrown up into the air, came down to an air cavity that was now filling the ocean that quickly returned to its normal state, violently pushing out whatever was in it in the first place. _Canary _was the first ship to suffer this fate, the force of a torpedo explosion fatally damaging the cruiser. A couple of seconds later, the destroyer _Seagull _suffered the same fate, but on the shorter vessel the effect was much more apparent. _Seagull _was split in half, smoke and water spraying straight through the space that had once been where her engine room was. Keel shattered, massive internal damage suffered and water spraying into places where the damage couldn't be stopped, both ships rapidly started to sink.

'_This is the Canary, all hands abandon ship!' _The captain of the _Canary _immediately ordered the crew of his cruiser to get off the doomed vessel. There was no response from the captain of the _Seagull. _To the far left-hand side of the task force's formation, a torpedo exploded off the side of the _Tea Time. _This explosion shook the ship violently but didn't cause any fatal damage. However, pipes were shattered, electronics were misaligned, the starboard side of the hull was dented and some vital machinery was pushed out of its mounting. Up in the skies, the LRSSG was flying around trying to stop or sink the _Alicorn. _

'_Long Caster, the Alicorn's overriding our jamming methods, we can't jam her sensors!' _Phantom mentioned to Long Caster and more broadly speaking everyone else on the radio.

'_Roger. All squadrons, focus your fire on the Alicorn's ballast tanks and weaponry. She cannot be allowed to submerge!' _Long Caster gave out orders to all the squads. Blaze saw SAMs coming from the VLS cells, targeted towards Cyclops Squadron. He looked around for a tracking radar of some sort. Blaze saw a small structure that had appeared from the top of the deckhouse. It had panels, an phased array radar of some sort. Blaze targeted it with a cluster bomb. That cluster bomb dropped, deployed all of the explosive charges contained within and slamming into the deckhouse, covering it in smoke and shrapnel. When the clouds kicked up by the many little explosives lifted, Blaze looked back and saw that the radar away had been shredded, as had some sort of other structure at the very front of the deckhouse. A decent distance away from the _Alicorn, _Drake and Spectre Squadrons started attacking the sub with their anti-ship missiles. Harpoon and Exocets fell from weapon pylons and boosted towards the sub. Two missiles from every aircraft, sixteen in total, flew. They locked onto the _Alicorn _as they got closer. Trigger saw that there were anti-ship missiles incoming. He targeted the CIWS mounts that weren't already dead with his Mavericks, nailing two while a third defended itself successfully. Trigger's attack was enough to distract the CIWS long enough for the anti-ship missiles launched by the Super Hornets and P-1s to slam into the side of the _Alicorn. _Fourteen of the sixteen missiles hit their target, entering through the outer hull, pressure hull and into internal spaces. The only thing preventing major damage was the sheer scale of the target. Even then, the missiles caused fairly significant damage.

'_Her outer hull's buckling. She's taken a beating!' _Jaeger called out. On the flight deck, Trigger noticed that there were fighters that had appeared in the space under the deckhouse. The black and red Rafale Ms of the squadron assigned to the _Alicorn. _They were already armed. None of them went for the catapults. Instead, the six fighters there rolled down the damaged flightdeck in pairs, engines set to full power. There was enough length for them to get into the sky without falling into the ocean.

'_That's some real skill there. Taking off in the middle of combat…' _Lanza noticed the fighters taking off.

* * *

'That's not skill, they're fucking crazy.' Blaze corrected Lanza. He flew in and fired at the rear fighters of the formation. One went down when the cockpit was hit by Blaze's cannon. A second took a Sidewinder to the engine bay and disintegrated. He managed to clip one of the leader's wings before Blaze shot overhead. Wiseman slammed some of them from the side with his own missiles, taking down another two. The two remaining Rafales beelined towards Enchanter Squadron, the second-most vulnerable squad of the allied forces. Phantom turned the _Alicorn's _aircraft's plans against them. Being a variant of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Growler was just as manuevable, they just lacked a cannon. Phantom launched a Sidewinder head-on at the first Rafale, hitting its nose and killing the pilot. The sixth and last Rafale was shot down by a ship from the task force, the FCU Type 26-class frigate _Pioneer. _Enchanter was safe for now. The rest of the squads resumed their air-to-surface attacks. There wasn't much left on the deck of the _Alicorn _that could be targeted, so Blaze focused on using his cluster bombs to crater the flight deck. Grimm and Mythic fired at whatever deck systems were left with the remainder of their Hellfire missiles. Mythic targeted the now-useless VLS systems while Grimm fired at the rear engine pods. Grimm's weapons did next to nothing on the engine pods except for damage the vertical stabilisers, but Mythic's Hellfires made some of the warheads in the port-side VLS pack explode, destroying the pack and ripping open a large hole on that pod. In response, a series of small tubes opened along the flanks of the deckhouse and small objects fired out. Blaze initially thought they were SLUAVs, but quickly noticed they had a different shape and were moving much slower. A bluish-green field quickly emitted around the dozen or so drones that were fired outwards.

'What the fuck?' Blaze asked. He tested the fields with an AMRAAM. The missile hit the field and exploded harmlessly. Some sort of energy field.

'_I see 'em. Those drones are emitting some sort of APS similar to the Arsenal Bird.' _Trigger speculated. Blaze nodded and changed his method of attack to get around them. Blaze climbed above the _Alicorn, _pointed his aircraft's nose towards where he thought he saw the tubes and then dropped. He loosed off a couple of cluster bombs and then pulled up. The cluster bombs fell, spread out its charges and then covered the deckhouse of the _Alicorn _in another cloud of smoke and shrapnel. The bomb tore off some of the paneling, but did very little to actually do anything about the tubes where the APS drones had come from. Exhaling, Blaze came around for another run at low altitude. One of the drones got in his way. Blaze climbed over it, rolled down and released another cluster as the bombsight aligned up with one of the tubes. That bomb dispersed its charges around the area. Once again, nothing was done to whatever was in the tubes. He didn't have the right weapons for precision bombing.

'Snow, try to get a GBU in those tubes.' He directed Snow to try.

'_Will do.' _Swordsman acknowledged, coming around from the same side that Blaze had attacked from. He went under the APS barrier, pulled up and dropped a bomb. Snow managed to get the GBU to slide all the way to the back of one of the starboard side tubes, which destroyed whatever was in it. Some of the force of the explosion was redirected out from where it had come which meant there was a blast shield of some sort inside. The damage was starting to stack up. Between anti-ship missiles, precision bombs, cluster bombs and other sorts of air to ground weapons, most of the _Alicorn's _weapons had been destroyed. She was unable to dive, and most of her aircraft complement had been shot down.

* * *

Trigger was coming around to drop GBUs through the bow of the sub when there was a radio transmission on the universal emergency net. A man sighed deeply.

'_We surrender.' _The man spoke in simple terms. Trigger recognised the voice. Captain Matias Torres, commanding officer of the _Alicorn. _To most people, nothing would seem out of place. But to Trigger, a former criminal, he knew that sort of act.

'I know that voice.' Trigger mentioned this to everyone else.

'_What's going on?!' _Lanza asked. He didn't know wherever to continue fighting or stand down.

'_This is the submarine aircraft cruiser Alicorn. We surrender. Stop! Shooting!' _Torres was now pleading with the Osean forces to cease fire.

'_All forces, cease fire!' _Long Caster listened to the plead. Trigger looked between wherever the hell Long Caster's AWACS aircraft was hovering and the _Alicorn. _

'Long Caster, that's a con man talking, I'd know that voice anywhere.' Trigger urged Long Caster to belay that order.

'_We need to sink the damn thing!' _Blaze agreed with Trigger on this.

'_Negative! We cannot attack those that have surrendered.' _Long Caster defended his own decision. '_That's a breach of international law!' _

'_I repeat, we surrender!' _Torres was still on the radio asking for a cease fire.

'Why hold international law so dearly?' Trigger asked.

'_We'll no longer be soldiers the moment we don't!' _Jaeger answered that question.

'_Then I'll happily quit my career!' _Blaze declared. He was sick of fighting with the gloves on.

'_We will surrender. We are currently making preparations to be disarmed.' _Torres continued to speak. No-one had directly answered him. At least until a particular OIA agent appeared on the radio again.

'_Captain Torres. I'm Captain David North, I'm a weapons analyst and field agent for the Osean Intelligence Agency. Captain, we've jammed your terminal guidance over Oured. Your shot will not hit the mark.' _North spoke to the rogue Erusean captain.

'_Let me tell you a story, Captain. Back when I was a gunnery officer, I had to aim at a ship twenty kilometres away in the middle of a storm.' _Torres spoke to the OIA agent. '_The seas were rough that day, and still I landed both of the shots.''_

'_You had an elegant plan, captain. At least, until we found you.' _North replied. The two seemed to be in a conversation.

'_Captain, damage control reports that the gun has been disabled. We cannot raise the main gun.' _In the background of Torres' radio, another member of the crew informed him of something. The Oseans heard this.

'Wait, does that mean-' Trigger said something.

'You hear that, North?' Blaze cut Trigger off.

'_It sounds like you have some weaponry errors, captain. No doubt a result of our bombing runs.' _North did indeed hear the officer speaking in the back and confronted Torres about it.

* * *

In the command and control centre of the _Alicorn, _Captain Matias Torres sighed calmly. Without a functioning main railgun, his plans had been foiled and now he was completely out of weapons to fight with.

'Orders, sir?' The command duty officer, a Commander, asked. The crew waited for a reply. Torres didn't answer them directly.

'No doubt at all. We will disarm and wait for instructions from your vessels.' Torres said to the Oseans on the other radio net. He put up the radio handpiece and turned to his crew. He had a half-smile on his face. A small one, but it was there. He then picked up the radio handpiece for the 1MC and then spoke to the surviving crew of the _Alicorn. _

'All hands, this is your captain speaking. Open all intact bulkheads and stand down. Do not oppose any boarding parties. I say again, stand down and disarm. For those of you who do not wish to remain onboard this submarine, report to the hangar bay and take a helicopter to the nearest island. I say again, stand down.'

* * *

**San Salvacion**

**San Salvacion Air Force Base General Hospital**

Count and Huxian left the medical ward of the hospital at San Salvacion Air Force Base. Count was on his feet. Both were wearing their service greens. Count had recovered swifty. Only four days and he was walking again, although the doctors had strongly advised that he shouldn't go flying around in a fighter for a few weeks so that the stitches in his thigh and artery didn't tear. Waiting for them were two known faces and an Osean Air Force F-15E. The known faces? Trigger and Jaeger. The latter two walked over to the pair.

'How are you feeling, Count?' Trigger asked the now-walking Count. The latter shrugged.

'Doctors say I should stay off ops for a week at the least. But other than that, I feel the same as ever.' Count replied, slightly changing the information he had been told himself. A white lie.

'How'd the sub hunt go?' Huxian asked the next question. Trigger took his chance to shrug.

'Well…'

* * *

**Oured, Osea**

**Osean Intelligence Agency Headquarters, Holding Cell 009, 5th Floor **

Captain Torres and the Command Duty Officer of the _Alicorn _were sitting on one side of a metal table, while David North, Admiral Jenson and a few other OIA and Osean Defence Force faces sat on the other side. Torres and his crew had come willingly, taking the badly damaged _Alicorn _all the way to Oured. The very place he had wanted to destroy.

'Captain Torres, what was your motive?' North asked. They had come to the end of one of their interrogation sessions. One of many to come.

'You've heard my speech at the start of this duck hunt. That should be an answer enough.' Torres answered.

'So your intention was to shock both sides into a ceasefire?'

'Yes.'

'Was your plan elegant?'

'It was.'

* * *

**Orca Forward Air Base, Usea**

'Operation is complete.' Wiseman spoke to the assembled pilots. It had been a day and a bit since Operation Fisherman had concluded, and the debrief had been delayed.

'Can we celebrate now?' An exhausted Skald asked.

'Yeah. Good work out there.' Wiseman allowed them to do so. The pilots of Strider and Cyclops were joyful at hearing that. Razgriz was more relaxed and held back. They knew what was coming. 'Your next mission is in 32 hours.'

'Oh, give me a break!' Count complained. Most of the others groaned. Alex tried to stifle a laugh. He failed.


	54. Chapter 52 - Cape Rainy Assault

Alex packed his kitbag with the few personal belongings he had brought with him to the Usean continent, walked out of the dorm that he and Razgriz Squadron had been using since they were assigned to the LRSSG, and threw the bag into a crate that would be loaded onto a carrier and shipped off to their next base. The usefulness of Orca Forward Air Base was coming to an end. In two hours he, Snow, Grimm and Mythic would be flying out to the opposite side of the continent to take and hold the base they would be using for the big operation of the war.

'Think fast!' Grimm yelled from inside the dorms building, throwing his own kitbag at Alex. The latter saw it coming, grabbed it and threw it into the same crate that he had dumped his own bag into.

'Think fast!' Alex threw Grimm's prank back at him, slapping the orange-haired pilot's baseball cap off his head.

'Oh, you-' Grimm threw out a quick insult, kneeling down to pick up his hat. Alex stood behind him, hands on his hips in anticipation. Grimm put his hat back on - it was a navy blue cap with the unit insignia of his old wing - and stood back up. 'So, the Farbanti showdown is in a couple of days. You got any plans after this whole thing blows over?'

Alex shrugged. 'Sort out a lot of mail, I suppose.' He joked. Alex's mailbox back home was probably full of all sorts of things. Grimm chuckled.

'Yeah, I've probably got to do the same.' Grimm agreed with him on that. Civil life and military life were two separate things. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Trigger approaching the two. He was wearing his usual pilot's one piece uniform.

'Major, Commander. Briefing's starting in five.' Trigger briefed Alex.

'Coming.' Alex acknowledged Trigger's call and started walking towards the briefing tent with Grimm in tow. As they walked from the dorms area to the briefing tent, the pair caught a glimpse of the _Orca _sitting at anchor, her two destroyer escorts flanking her. Trucks were carrying cargo crates back and forth between the carrier and the base. Cranes at the docks were pulling the land-based aircraft onto the deck where they would be disassembled and shipped off. Directing these aircraft movements was Avril. For a civilian, she had built a high level of respect with the military personnel of the LRSSG. Neither of the two aces said anything as they entered. Snow and Mythic were already in the tent, along with Wiseman who would be briefing them on the operation.

_September 16, 2019, 1500 Hours_

_Operation Werewolf_

_Cape Rainy Air Force Base, Northern Erusea, Usea_

_With most of Erusea's superweapons either destroyed, disabled or captured, they're running out of ways to counter our advance. Just as well, our long-range strategy is coming into its final phase. The objective of this mission is to capture the Erusean air force base at Cape Rainy. This base will be used by all branches of the Armed Forces for the Farbanti showdown. The Eruseans have a powerful radar system watching the skies, so you'll be approaching the base under the cover of night through a valley to the south. Once you arrive on station, eliminate the air defences and any strong resistance for the assault company to storm the base. This is for the finals. Make us proud. _

_AIRCRAFT:_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Razgriz 3/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 4/Mythic: Typhoon FGR.4_

As Blaze lifted off the runway for the final time from that base, he recounted the number of hours he had flown in the past two weeks. The answer was a lot. Most of those hours he had spent transferring from base to battlezone to base again. He hoped that this operation and the Farbanti operation to follow that up would be the last sorties of this war. Blaze removed those thoughts from his head and focused on the mission. They were in for a very long trip. This was the longest distance that they had flown so far in the war. For Blaze, it was the second longest trip he had undertaken in a fighter aircraft. He tried to settle in for the flight, but something felt wrong to him. That feeling would bother him for the rest of the operation.

Three hours into the flight, the squad formed up on an Osean KC-10 Extender tanker for refuelling. The sun had set and there was a decently-sized cloud layer over the area they were tanking at, so the pilots had to use the integrated night vision that came with their helmets to meet with the tanker and refuel. Grimm, Mythic and Swordsman were the first three to refuel with the KC-10 providing three spots to fuel at, while Blaze waited for a spot to open up. Grimm was the first to restock on jet fuel, withdrawing from the spot and falling out of formation to allow Blaze to take the spot.

'Razgriz 1, taking the port side basket.' Blaze called this out to the tanker's crew while lining up behind the tanker and slowly accelerating until his refueling stake met with the basket. An LED light around the basket lit green, and fuel started transferring from the fuel reservoirs of the KC-10 into the Su-33's fuel tanks. Blaze sat there following the tanker for a minute until his tanks were full. Blaze then detached from the tanker and came back to the now-waiting Razgriz Squad. They left the tanker's airspace and proceeded with their mission.

* * *

An hour after that, they arrived at the southern border of the Cape Rainy region.

'Descend. We're at the border of their radar's detection range.' Blaze ordered the other three to drop altitude from a kilometre above the ground to barely a hundred metres AGL. The night was dark. Even with night vision, it was hard to see. The only thing anyone would know of aircraft was hearing their engines.

Blaze saw the opening to the valley ahead in the dark. He adjusted his flight path to avoid the side of the valley walls. Snow, Grimm and Mythic followed in formation closely behind. Blaze passed the wall of the valley and suddenly there was a lot of space underneath him. Blaze dived to just above the river and boosted forward, getting as much speed as was possible while still maintaining maximum maneuverability. Grimm and Mythic caught up with Blaze, being able to maneuver well at high speeds with their Typhoons. Swordsman in the fast but chunky Tomcat was behind by a little bit, not quite as agile as the Flanker or Typhoon. Leading the Razgriz, Blaze turned around a corner in the valley and saw beams of light scanning the upper halves of the valley. He frowned. _Why…? _

'Searchlights up high, proceed with caution.' Blaze reported this to his squad while dropping his altitude even lower. Now he was a bare ten metres above the river that ran through the entire valley. Mythic looked up at the searchlights as she dived down to the same height as her squad leader.

'_Why would anyone have searchlights up that high?' _She asked, not understanding the tactic or motive behind such a move.

'_They're looking for helicopters. I don't think they'd expect jets and boat crews to pass through.' _Grimm theorised.

'Good thing our ground forces aren't travelling in helicopters.' Blaze mentioned. Razgriz continued to pass through the valley. The walls were extremely tight and were challenging to navigate safely, but Razgriz did it without a sweat at high speeds.

'_Razgriz, Basilisk 1. Our current ETA matches yours. We'll catch them off-guard, but can we secure the LZ quickly?' _The leader of one of the companies of the Osean Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta Force - reported in and asked.

'We'll hammer their ground forces before your troopers land, don't worry.' Blaze reassured the ground force commander. They would be coming in via a squadron of MC-130H Combat Talons. The men and women that composed Delta Force were some of the best in the Special Operations community. They were an obvious choice to undertake this mission. Blaze rounded a sharp turn and almost went into the beam of a searchlight. Cursing, he quickly pulled up, rolled and went down again to correct his course. After the other three made that turn and went around the searchlight, Long Caster checked in on them.

'_Razgriz, you've passed through checkpoint two. The valley is about to get narrower, be careful.' _Long Caster said. Blaze checked his map. Sure enough, the valley was predicted to get tighter around this point. He pressed forward, flying around the numerous bends and rocky outcrops. This place reminded him of the Payavleine Ravine in Yuktobania, even if it was smaller and darker. He half-expected a Belkan ace fighter squadron to appear.

'_So… how much flying do we have left to do?' _Mythic asked.

'This op, and then the Farbanti operation and we should be done.' Blaze answered that question. Much like his own streak of combat sorties back in the Circum-Pacific War, he imagined that the war was fatiguing the younger and less experienced pilot. He imagined it was exhausting everyone. Ignoring that for the moment to focus on not slamming into the sides of the valley walls, Blaze rounded a corner which led into another large barrier of searchlights.

'Oh fucking hell.' Blaze muttered to himself before turning to the radio. 'Go low and go fast.' Blaze descended to the absolute lowest he could fly at without slamming into the floor, kicking up water from the river a few metres below him. Two Typhoons and a Tomcat followed him on that flight path, just barely passing underneath the focus of the lowest searchlights. As soon as they had left the giant field of searchlights, the group had to ascend to navigate around a sharp bend in the valley. Blaze, Grimm and Mythic made the turn without worries but Snow barely made it around the bend, grinding off a small portion of one of the vertical stabilisers against the rocky walls.

'_I really hope that's as narrow as it gets.' _Snow said after hearing the sounds of metal grinding away at high speed. Blaze looked ahead. There was a wall ahead of them that had a small tunnel-like section that he hoped went through the valley and out to the other side. No. He couldn't risk losing four aircraft to an unseen obstacle.

'Long Caster, Basilisk, change of plan. We're directly attacking the base.' Blaze declared his new plan to the AWACS and the ground units.

'_What do you mean, 'directly attacking the base'?_' Long Caster asked. He didn't understand what Blaze meant. Blaze didn't explain.

'Razgriz, push it!' He said to his squad mates, climbing above the altitude restrictions that had been imposed and pushing his engines all the way into afterburner. Snow and Grimm followed him, but it took a second for Mythic to understand the plan before she did the same and caught up. A couple of seconds after they broke the altitude position, Blaze's radar warning receiver notified him that he had been detected by a surface radar. They probably only had a minute to react. Luckily, the squad had been about two-thirds of the way to the base when they decided to attack, so within the span of ten seconds they were right on top of the base. The squad slowed down and dived. Blaze, Grimm and Mythic were equipped with Hellfire anti-tank missiles to deal with the large amounts of ground targets, while Snow was their missile truck for tonight.

'Blaze, engaging.' Blaze reported.

'_Archer, engaging!' _Grimm reported.

'_Mythic, engaging.' _Mythic reported.

'_Swordsman, engaging!' _Swordsman reported. In sequence, Blaze, Grimm and Mythic fired their Hellfire missiles at the various air defence sites and vehicles. The base personnel hadn't fully woken up yet. As a result, they were caught off guard when suddenly most of their AA and SAM guns went up in flames, hit by a large salvo of air-to-ground missiles. Smoke stacks started rising into the air as ammunition contained in those AA vehicles cooked off as a result of internal fires. A pair of Su-35s were preparing to take off as the Razgriz had attacked the base. Blaze gunned down one that was rolling down the runway, sending debris spiralling off the runway and into the grass off to the side and front, and he hit the second one with a Sidewinder as it gained altitude. Both were down.

'_That wasn't the plan, but it seems to be working. Keep up the attack, Razgriz.' _Long Caster knew this was a diversion from the original plan, but he encouraged Razgriz Squadron all the same.

Blaze turned around after destroying the two Super Flankers and next up targeted the base's vehicle pool packed with transports and, more importantly, BTR-90 armoured personnel carriers. Blaze fired a Hellfire at the fuelling terminal so the BTRs couldn't get moving. This missile hit the refuelling terminal and broke it, turning the fuelling ports into slag. Coming around the other side of the airfield, Grimm launched missiles at the patrol boats that were docked in the attached port. Two missiles were fired, breaking off the bow of one and sinking it and severely damaging the second.

Elsewhere, Mythic dived on the B-52 bombers stationed at hangars on the north-western side of the airfield and launched missiles into the cockpits of the three bombers, crippling all three. She rapidly changed course and launched another salvo of Hellfires at a set of searchlights that were active and searching for the attacking aircraft so they could provide visual guidance for close-range MANPAD systems and AA guns. Three of the four searchlights were destroyed by her missiles, leaving the manually-guided systems in the blind.

'_This is Basilisk, deploying on the runway now.' _From the east came four friendly transports. MC-130Hs belonging to the Osean Air Defence Force's Special Operations Command. They flew in quickly and lined up the airbase's runway. They would be using it against the Eruseans. The first MC-130 touched down, quickly followed by the second. A few moments later, the third and fourth hit the ground. Each pair turned off the runway and went into the grass, clearing up the runway for follow-up forces to land. Once the two pairs were safely off the runway, the cargo bay doors of all four aircraft opened and out came fifty operators from each plane. They started running towards the main concentration of buildings, firing at any Erusean soldiers they saw as they ran. Being supremely trained, few of them missed their shots.

Razgriz Squadron supported the ground troopers with close air support. Blaze and Mythic led a strike against a group of Harriers that were preparing to take off. The laser-guided Hellfires slammed into the bodies of the four S/VTOL aircraft, destroying them all. Running parallel with the base's runway, Grimm made an attack against the air detection radar, striking its nearby power generator with a Hellfire and shutting it down temporarily. No further detection of attacking Oseans for them.

Further out to sea, Snow was doing circles anticipating the arrival of enemy interceptors. To his surprise, the AN/APG-71 radar carried by his F-14D detected a flight of four fighters approaching from the north. Su-35s.

'_Captain, we've got interceptors inbound. Four-man flight of Su-35s._' Snow reported this to Blaze. The latter turned out to sea to see this for himself. Indeed, four Super Flankers were approaching Cape Rainy. They were moving at high speed and had their radars active in scan mode, but none of them were attempting to get a lock on the four Osean fighters.

'Basilisk 1, Razgriz 1, we're off-station for a bit to intercept enemy fighters.' Blaze informed the ground commander.

'_Copy that, Razgriz, we've got this under control.' _The ground commander responded.

'Razgriz, turn to intercept.' Blaze ordered his three pilots to abandon their ground support mission temporarily to go and intercept the interceptors. The two Typhoon pilots joined the Flanker and Tomcat pilots and went out north to give chase.

'_No radar lock. These guys are looking for a dogfight.' _Grimm said. Blaze said nothing but agreed. The four Su-35s came to within visual range where even in the dark of night the four Razgriz could identify the paint scheme on the enemy fighters. White and grey spotted camo. Each aircraft had a personal insignia. A shape that vaguely looked like a wave, a two-face, a hell-hound and some sort of foreign creature that Blaze didn't recognise. These were people that Razgriz had faced down before.

'_It's the fuckin' Erusean ace squadron.' _Mythic said this out loud. Blaze set his radio to the universal emergency channel.

'Ghost Squadron, this went south for you twice. Withdraw from the combat zone.' Blaze requested that the enemy ace squadron fall back. Against the advice of the veteran pilot, Ghost Squadron did not turn away. They kept heading towards Cape Rainy.

'_Not until the mission is complete.' _The same female leader that Blaze had heard in the previous two engagements with that squad spoke coldly.

'Razgriz, engage.' The enemy forced Blaze's hand. Snow and Mythic both predicted this would happen and had gained radar locks before the enemy did the same. They both fired AMRAAMs off at the two pilots in the trail position. They didn't have much chance to miss, but as good as the AIM-120D was, the two enemy pilots managed to evade and suddenly Razgriz Squadron and Ghost Squadron were in a dogfight, one on one. Blaze took on the leader, Snow had the hell-hound, Grimm the alien-like creature and Mythic the two-face.

In a close-range knife fight, Snow was at a disadvantage against the more agile Super Flanker. Normally in a situation like this, he would use the superior power of his engines to get away from the fighter and fire from long range. However, Snow was also good at unpredictable flight, something that the hell-hound pilot wasn't good at picking up. Flying in the defence position, Snow brought the fight straight up, reducing his thrust as he did so. The Flanker followed, looking for an easy shot. He gained a radar lock. As soon as Snow heard that lock, he shut his engines down to idle and pulled back the nose so that he was now pointing at the floor. He alligned the gun sight of his M61 cannon with the engine intakes of the Su-35 and fired a long burst. Shells went straight down the intakes and shattered the engines of the aircraft. Both engines flamed out, turbine blades shooting out of the engine nozzles. Left without power, the Su-35 started to fall to the surface. Snow gave power back to his own engines and shot down out of the cone of fire of the downed Flanker. One down.

Grimm, ever the confident pilot, brought the Su-35 into a turning battle. The Super Flanker was one of the best fighters to take into a battle of kinetic energy. The Typhoon was better at it than the Flanker. Grimm stole the attacking position from the Flanker early in the fight and forced the Flanker to waste its energy trying to break the Typhoon pilot's lock. When this didn't work, the Flanker brought the fight up. A bad move, for when this happened Grimm looked up, got a Sidewinder lock and fired. The AIM-9X shot up from the pylon and followed the Su-35. The pilot of the latter leveled out too late. The Sidewinder slammed him right in the midsection, landing a critical hit. The last thing Grimm saw from that aircraft was an ejection as the wrecked body of the Su-35 fell to the ocean surface far below.

One of the most difficult fights between Razgriz and Ghost was Mythic against the two-face pilot. The latter was much better than the alien and the hell-hound, with much quicker reactions than those two. Two-Face took the attacking position before Mythic could and chased her down. The latter did a lot of fancy turns to avoid cannon fire fired from the Su-35's 23-millimeter cannon. Mythic managed to evade long enough to exhaust the Su-35 of all its cannon ammo.

'_Fuck, you're a slippery bitch.' _The pilot of the aircraft, a woman, insulted her. Not reacting, Mythic turned the odds against the enemy by pulling her Typhoon in a sliding sort of motion in the air and firing a Sidewinder at a sixty-degree angle at the Super Flanker. The missile missed as the Super Flanker evaded. Mythic cursed to herself and pulled the battle away from the ocean and towards the airfield, the Su-35 still in pursuit. A radar warning blared in Mythic's headset. She popped chaff and flares to buy some time as the radar warning turned into a missile alert. She looked on the mirrors mounted around her cockpit to see behind her. A missile was right behind her. Mythic pulled up in an attempt to evade, but the missile predicted her movement and followed. There was a explosion somewhere behind Mythic, a violent shaking of the airframe and damage alert sounds. Shortly after the damage alerts warned her of something being broken, there was a shredding sound. The turbine blades in at least one of her engines had been shattered and were tearing apart that engine.

'_Gotcha!' _The enemy pilot seemed to be happy that she scored a hit. '_Time to finish the underdog bitch off!' _

'Oh, no you fucking don't.' Mythic said angrily, using whatever little thrust she had left to spin the Typhoon around to get in the way of the Super Flanker. Once she was sure there would be a mid-air collision, Mythic pulled the ejection handle. As the canopy busted open but before she was ejected from the cockpit, Mythic heard one line from the two-face pilot.

'_Fuck me' _was what she heard before the rocket booster kicked in and Mythic was ejected out over the edge of the runway closest to the ocean. As she was booted out of the cockpit, she saw the enemy pilot eject just before the Su-35 collided with the carcass of Mythic's Typhoon. The two pilots were in close proximity of each other. They both landed within a few dozen metres of each other. Once Mythic was down, she strapped out of her parachute, took off her helmet and drew her service M9 sidearm. She held it close to her body and approached the downed enemy pilot.

Blaze had noticed that Mythic had been shot down, but he was preoccupied with fighting the enemy squad leader. The two were in an extremely tight dogfight, too close to fight with missiles so the two were using their guns. Blaze was the attacker, having taken that advantage as soon as the fight had begun. The squad leader couldn't shake him, Blaze flying in the superior aircraft and overall being a better pilot. After a minute of intense dogfighting, Blaze managed to get the first hit by landing a couple of shells on the control surfaces of the left wing. A few seconds later, he landed another hit, ripping off a vertical stabiliser. The enemy squad leader brought the fight all the way to the surface, heading towards the airfield. Grimm came from the pilot's right side and popped a missile off. Snow was on the left of her and did the same, capturing the enemy in a pincer attack. She attempted to climb out of the engagement, avoiding one missile but catching the second, tearing off a wing. Critically damaged, the pilot tried to level out, but missing half of her control surfaces, she was barely able to do so. Blaze formed up on the left side of the damaged aircraft as it wandered inland. The pilot saw the Razgriz's squad leader show up.

'You're not going anywhere with that damage. Eject.' Blaze ordered the enemy squad leader to bail out. Grimm lined up behind her ready to fire the killing shot, but if she didn't eject Blaze knew Grimm wouldn't have to. The aircraft would probably fall out of the sky on its own.

'_Fuck you.' _The pilot swore at Blaze bitterly.

'Either you bail and live, or you burn out and die. I'm trying to save your life here, lady.' Blaze said firmly in reply. After a few seconds of silence by which time they had crossed from feet wet to feet dry, the pilot sighed. A second after that, the canopy was blown off the Su-35 and the pilot ejected. That was all four interceptors down. Blaze returned to a holding pattern around the airbase and contacted the ground troops.

'Basilisk, Razgriz 1, how are you going on the ground?' He asked the ground commander.

'_Kicking in the last few doors now. We've got effective control of the base.' _Basilisk reported. Blaze was happy to hear that.

'Roger. Can you dispatch a team to find our downed pilot?' He asked, worried about his fourth man, or woman technically.

'_Will do.' _

'Cheers.'

On the ground near the edge of the runway, Mythic approached the two-face pilot with her gun raised at her. The enemy had landed and appeared to be alive, but she was probably unconscious as she was lying face-first on the grass. Mythic crouched next to the downed enemy and prepared to restrain her. It was at that point that Mythic realised the pilot wasn't unconscious as she mule-kicked Mythic in the chest, knocking her back and winding her. She dropped her gun. Quickly recovering, Mythic stood to fight the enemy pilot. The latter was already up and in the middle of swinging at Mythic's head. She ducked under the punch and ran forward, tackling the enemy. The latter was pushed back, but countered by kicking out one of Mythic's legs forcing her to kneel, kneeing her in the chest and then right-hooking her in the face. Blood sprayed from Mythic's mouth as her lower lip was cut open. She fell onto her back, wounded. The enemy pilot kneeled on the younger Osean, pinning her. The two-face pilot - Mythic could see where that emblem came from, the enemy pilot had a giant burn scar covering half her face - extracted a knife from her boot and attempted to plunge it into Mythic's heart. Mythic saw the blow coming and grabbed the blade of the knife with her gloved hands. The enemy was stronger, and the knife came closer to stabbing into her flesh millimetre by millimetre.

'Don't resist.' The two-face whispered. 'It'll all be over soon.' The knife got closer to Mythic's unarmoured chest. Mythic said something, looking for a solution to her problem. A shiny glint revealed such a solution. Her gun was in the grass right next to her. Mythic shifted her weight so she could exert more force with one arm, let go with one hand and grabbed the grip of the pistol. Mythic forced the barrel of the gun into Two-Face's chest and fired one, two, three, four shots at point blank range. Two-Face looked in shock at this, the four pistol-calibre bullets penetrating the skin and muscle and shooting straight into her heart. The look of shock didn't last very long. Mythic threw the fatally injured pilot off, stood up and ended the latter's life with a single bullet through the cranium. Two-Face was dead, blood leaking out of her perforated brain. The enemy dead, Mythic holstered the pistol and rubbed her lip. Blood was leaking from her lip. Grunting, Mythic turned for the closest friendly unit and started walking.

'_Razgriz, you are clear to land. We found your pilot. She's banged up but alive.' _Basilisk reported to the three pilots still in the air.

'Good to hear. Coming around.' Blaze answered, waiting for Snow and Grimm to land before doing so himself. The runway, although flanked by four MC-130s and the wreckage of two Su-35s and a Typhoon, was clear and undamaged. Blaze lined up the runway and touched down. He followed the other two to the area that the spec-ops guys had cleared for them to park their planes. Blaze parked his aircraft in an open spot, shut down the engines and opened the canopy. He began stepping out, breathing in fresh air for the first time in a few hours. New base secured and ready for operations, and an ace squadron that had been hounding them down for good. Things were going well.

He saw Mythic watching the fighters pull in, blood dripping from her mouth.

Things were mostly going well.


	55. Chapter 53 - Farbanti Preparations

**Oured, Osea**

**Mothball Fleet Station Porter, western Oured**

At the start of the war, the Eruseans had targeted many of the main naval ports operated by the Osean Maritime Defence Force. What they had failed to target were the various stations that contained old warships that were part of the OMDF's numerous mothballed squadrons. Fleet Station Porter was the largest of these mothball stations on the Spring Sea front. She contained eighty ships in various states of inactivity. Some, like the _Spruance-class_ destroyer OFS _Silverwing, _were used as a parts vessel and could not be reactivated. Others, like the _Alaska_-class battlecruiser OFS _Saint Hewlett_ of 1940s heritage were still actively maintained if outdated by many decades.

A group of high-ranking naval officers arrived at Fleet Station Porter to see which vessels of these mothball squadrons could be reactivated for the upcoming operation. At the administration building of Porter, Captain Daniel Darach was handed a list of the ships stationed at Porter and their last reported condition. Of the eighty ships stationed there, only fifteen were able to be deployed within the time scale they had. These ships were circled with blue ink. Darach read the list.

* * *

_MAYA BB IOWA_

_OURED BB IOWA _

_ALASKA CB ALASKA _

_ST HEWLETT CB ALASKA_

_REDWOOD LHA TARAWA_

_BANA CITY LHA TARAWA_

_FREYA CG TICONDEROGA FLIGHT I_

_LION CG TICONDEROGA FLIGHT I_

_CROWE DDG A. BURKE FLIGHT I_

_SCUTTLEFISH DDG A. BURKE FLIGHT I_

_MERLIN DD SPRUANCE_

_SWORD DD SPRUANCE_

_LANCE DD SPRUANCE_

_VIOLET FFG TYPE 22 BATCH 2_

_INDIGO FFG TYPE 22 BATCH 1_

* * *

**Task Force Outcome**

**OFS **_**Vulture II**_

**Fort Greys Island**

Commander Zoe _Talon _Davis navigated the various hallways of the Navy's second-newest carrier addition down to the forward hangar where all of the new pilots assigned to the carrier were located. Ninety of them in total, most freshly commissioned from the carrier training camp at Saint Hewlett and Bana City. Talon was _Vulture's _new CAG, the overall leader of the ship's complement of pilots. She stood at the front of the crew.

'For those of you who were here when this war started, you know what the deal is. For those of you who have just joined us, you're about to be part of the largest military confrontation ever seen in the modern era. In two days we'll be conducting flight operations over the Erusean capital of Farbanti. You'll be confronting some of the best pilots the Erusean Air Force has to offer. You'll be facing a fierce anti-aircraft network. Casualties are expected. However, if we stick to our plan, if you support each other to get the job done, this will force an end to the war.'

* * *

**ISAF Headquarters**

**Twinkle Islands**

'Hey Cipher, you hearing this shit?' In the crew room, Captain Nathan _Mobius _Wilde called out to the resident mercenary and veteran. At the other side of the room, Maxwell _Cipher _Williams looked up from the newspaper he was reading.

'What's the news?' He asked, paying attention to what Mobius 1 had to say.

'The Osean Defence Force is warning civilians to leave Farbanti. They're preparing for a major operation.' Mobius briefed the merc. The latter put down his newspaper and did a double take on what Mobius just said.

'Come again?'

* * *

_**Lekk**_

**Cascade Ocean**

Grimnar, the Black Raven, observed a setting sun from the deck of his ship, a cup of black coffee in one hand. The ship he was onboard, the _Lekk_, was an old cargo freighter that had been given to him by the Yuktobanians for a job he had completed for them. Using one of his contacts he had gotten the ship refitted and modernised. Now it served as his mobile base and aircraft carrier.

Grimnar's phone rang. He pulled it out of the pocket it was in with one hand and answered it.

'_Raven?' _The person on the other side was his handler.

'Yes.' Grimnar answered bluntly and to the point.

'_New tasking, outside of your original mission parameters.' _

'Send details.'

'_An experimental drone has gone down north of the city of Saint Ark. It is requested that you recover the drone and move it to a set of coordinates that will be transmitted shortly.'_

'Tasking received. Give me the coordinates.'

'_Transmitting.'_

'And what sort of resistance should I expect?'

'_It is believed that an ace squadron belonging to a Belkan group is looking for the drone. If we could find it, they could too, so there is a high chance they will be there the same time as you.' _

'Understood. Belkan aces.'

* * *

**ISAF HQ**

**Twinkle Island**

'Roald, none of us would blame you if you went back.' Mobius, Cipher and James Roald, _Yellow 13, _were walking around the track that had been established on the base. Mobius and Yellow were talking while Cipher remained silent for most of the conversation.

'I won't. I might be Erusean, but there is no sensible meaning behind my country's war. I don't wish to assist them.' Yellow firmly stated that he wouldn't be rushing off to the capital's defence for a second time.

'Last time you went, everyone thought you were killed, so I don't blame ya.' Cipher had heard of the stories from the Continental War all those years ago.

'There's a new generation of aces on either side anyway. They'll handle things.' Mobius mentioned. For the Oseans, those aces were the pilots from the LRSSG he had heard of. On the Erusean side, Mobius admitted to himself that he didn't actually know.


	56. Chapter 54 - Confidence

**September 19th, 2019, 0400 Hours**

**Cape Rainy Air Force Base, northern Erusea, Usea**

Sitting in a plastic chair on a quiet position at the coastline near the airfield, Alex sipped away at a can of cola, staring out to sea. Sitting next to him was his phone quietly playing an old orchestra song he used to listen to a lot back when he was a kid. There was a cool, relaxing breeze heading his way. Alex picked up a stone that was sitting next to him and threw it out at the ocean's surface. It hit, bounced a few times and then sank.

'Nice shot, commander.' Trigger said from somewhere behind Alex. The latter turned around, startled. He hadn't known Strider Squad's leader was around. Alex quickly relaxed himself and returned his gaze to the ocean.

'Thanks.' Alex replied after a few seconds had passed. Trigger walked out of the foliage where he had been hiding and stood a metre or two away from the older and more experienced pilot.

'What are _you _doing out here so early on the go day?' Trigger asked. Alex shrugged.

'Couldn't sleep. What about you? You're guilty of being awake early as well.'

'Neither could I.' Trigger admitted. He kneeled down and ran one of his hands through the sand.

'I don't blame you. It's a big op.' Alex cracked his knuckles. 'How are you feeling?'

'Nervous, to say the least.' Trigger admitted. He stood up again. Alex did as well, downing the last of the cola he had in his can and putting it in his kitbag and then turning his phone off and putting that in there as well.

'You've gotten your squad out of impossible odds before, Trigger. I've got confidence you'll get them out of here as well.' Alex reassured the captain. Trigger nodded.

'Yeah, good point.' There was silence for a few more seconds as the two stared out at the ocean.

'Commander?' Trigger asked to break the tension.

'Yeah?' Alex answered.

'Have you ever lost a wingman?'

Alex was silent for a few seconds. He didn't want to talk about it.

'I have.' Alex replied quietly. Trigger didn't push for any further details, detecting Alex's obvious discomfort.

'So have I. Let's make sure that doesn't happen to either of us today, yeah?'

'Sounds like a plan.' Alex quickly regained his confident composure.


	57. Chapter 55 - Battle of Farbanti (Part I)

Today was the day.

The beginning of the end.

Cape Rainy was buzzing with activity. The paratroopers stationed at the base were getting their briefings and preparing their equipment. Warships in the port were leaving to join the venerable armada of ships approaching the Erusean capital. Transport aircraft, support aircraft, fighter aircraft, all sorts of aircraft were preparing for the big day ahead of them.

At the crew ready room, the pilots of the LRSSG were kitting up before heading to their briefing. Every single member - Alex, Snow, Grimm, Mythic, Wiseman, Count, Fencer, Huxian, Trigger, Jaeger, Lanza, Skald and Tailor - from all three squads were in there, regardless of any prior injury. Mythic was sliding into her gear despite the two stitches she had in her lip from being punched in the mouth on Operation Werewolf. She still had an aircraft to fly, too. Count still had a cut in his leg from when he had been hit by a stray bullet, but that wasn't stopping him from flying.

Grimm lightly jabbed Mythic in the shoulder as the two kitted up.

'How's your lip?' He asked. Mythic shrugged, fitting on her survival vest.

'Nothing that some paracetamol won't fix.' She answered, grabbing her blank helmet and sliding the chinstrap around a loop on her vest so it wouldn't go anywhere. Grimm scoffed in amusement. On the other side of the room, Trigger and Count were having a similar conversation.

'I'm no medical expert, but I don't think going out with a busted leg is a good idea.' Trigger was saying to the injured Count.

'Well damn Trigger, I'm not missing out on a war-ending opportunity.' Count rebuffed Mister Three Strikes. Count dismissed the fact that he had explicitly been told by the doctors not to fly. Trigger chuckled.

'If you're so insistent, go ahead. But I'm not responsible for you breaking your leg a second time.' Trigger gave Count a word of warning. Alex checked that all his kit was intact before exiting the room with his squad in tow. Cyclops followed them out, with Strider's members exiting the ready room last. Razgriz led the three squads into the briefing room, where Alex saw a particular man he had first met on the 24th of September, 2010, at Sand Island's mission control room.

'Major Tom. You son of a bitch.' Alex said out loud. The man he had just said the name of turned around, recognising the voice that had called out his name.

'Captain Williams. It _has _been some time, hasn't it?' Major Frank Thomas welcomed the leader of the Razgriz Squadron to the briefing room. Thomas was the briefing officer that served Wardog Squadron. He was also the briefing officer that had served the Razgriz back in the day. Neither of the two spent time reminiscing on older days. They both had jobs to do.

_September 19, 2019, 1500 Hours_

_Operation Giant's Step_

_Farbanti, Erusea_

_The operation to capture the Erusean capital of Farbanti is beginning. This is the culmination of our work. We need to capture the Erusean Force's General Headquarters in the south of Farbanti and end this war. The plan is for ground troops to attack Farbanti from both the east and the north, and a task fleet will attack from the southwest. We will secure air superiority over the capital, while providing air support for our allies on the ground and in the water as required. By all accounts, we expect this to be an intense full-scale battle across land, sea, and air. Should you need to replenish your ammunition or make necessary repairs to your craft, forward replenishment stations have been set up to the north and to the east. For those of you who are flying carrier-capable aircraft, carriers will also be available to the west. Once the capital falls, the Erusean military will be isolated and thrown into chaos, making it easier for us to end the war. However, that can't happen until after the capital falls, so you guys are the stars of this battle. Erusea will fight like a tiger, but we cannot lose. We must seize the capital and end this war._

_AIRCRAFT_

_Razgriz 1/Blaze: Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker-D_

_Razgriz 2/Swordsman: F-14D Super Tomcat_

_Razgriz 3/Archer: Typhoon FGR.4_

_Razgriz 4/Mythic: F-35B Lightning II_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-22A Raptor_

_Strider 2/Jaeger: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Skald: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Lanza: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Cyclops 1/Wiseman: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 2/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 3/Fencer: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 4/Huxian: F-15C Eagle_

As Trigger and his pilots in Strider walked up to their hangar, Trigger noticed that there was a nose pointing out of the hangar that didn't belong to an F-15. He squinted, trying to focus on the nosecone of whatever he was seeing. That didn't help identify it, so he quickened his pace so he could see what the hell sort of aircraft was in the hangar. It was an F-22A, a Raptor.

'How in the fuck?' Trigger asked himself. He had no idea how a Raptor had managed to get into their hangar. There weren't any F-22 squadrons based at Cape Rainy. Trigger and the rest of Strider entered the hangar looking for an explanation.

'Woah.' Lanza said once he saw the F-22 in the hangar. Trigger noticed that Avril had a ladder propped up against the back of the Raptor, paintbrush in hand with a bucket of white paint nearby. She noticed that Trigger had entered and smiled while dropping down the ladder. From that smile, Trigger quickly realised what was going on.

'Is this-' Trigger began to ask.

'For you? Yeah. Someone back home is watching your progress and got this shipped in.' Avril answered what Trigger was about to ask. 'I hooked it up overnight with some more modern avionics. Painted your sin lines on as well.'

'Oh.' Trigger didn't know what to say at first. 'Thanks, I guess.'

Avril patted Trigger on the shoulder and left to go attend to other aircraft. Once she left, Trigger turned to Lanza and Tailor.

'New plan. Lanza, you're qualified on the Strike Eagle right?' Trigger asked the second-youngest of the squad.

'Yeah? Why, you need an attack pilot?' Lanza answered quizzically. Trigger pointed at his modified F-15E, still sitting in the hangar with its desert camo that he had painted on back when he was in Spare Squadron. Conveniently, it didn't have the three sin lines on it anymore.

'You and Tailor get to take the best F-15E in the Air Force.' Trigger briefed him and the even younger Tailor.

'Oh hell yeah.' Lanza liked the sound of that as did Tailor. The two dashed towards the Strike Eagle. Trigger chuckled to himself. Jaeger did as well. Those two were kids in adult bodies.

Over at Razgriz's hangar, the only thing different from their regular deployment schedule was the lack of a second Typhoon. Instead there was an F-35B in place of that second Typhoon. Mythic hadn't been able to get her hands on a spare FGR.4, so she was subbing in with the VTOL aircraft she had only flown once.

'Did you end up confronting the two survivors of that ace squad?' Grimm asked Blaze as they approached their assigned hangar space.

'That's a job for the intelligence branch.' Blaze answered. 'Besides, what would I ask? Why are they chasing us down?'

'It would be an answer at least.' Mythic pointed out, placing her helmet on her head. Blaze conceded that Mythic had a point, but it was a day too late to ask that question.

Ten minutes later, Razgriz, Cyclops and Strider found themselves idling behind the bombers and transport aircraft, waiting for them to take off before they themselves took off. Blaze checked the clipboard strapped to his thigh as he waited for the tower to clear them. The Oseans were throwing a hell of a lot of ordnance at the capital. The Ground Defence Force was throwing two divisions into the blender plus Spec-Ops teams. The Air Defence Force had numerous wings flying into the airspace of all types. The Maritime Defence Force was throwing the entire 2nd Fleet at Farbanti, and Blaze had heard they were even drawing from the mothball fleets to bolster their forces. Overall, the Eruseans had one hell of a fight coming up.

'_LRSSG, clear to begin operations.' _The ATC informed the three fighter squads that they were clear to take off. Blaze looked back up at his instruments and pushed his throttle forward. In the span of a few seconds he was lifting off and heading for Farbanti. The others followed behind him.

Unlike the trip from the Rocky Islands to Cape Rainy, the trip from Cape Rainy to Farbanti wasn't as much as a drag as the distance was much shorter. The LRSSG found themselves escorting a battalion of paratroopers embarked onboard C-17A Globemasters for the first half of the trip, before passing off that duty to Navy F-35Cs. The LRSSG then turned inland and went for the route that would take them to the outskirts of the engagement zone. Blaze checked his tactical display one more time before entering the AO. A large force of aircraft were approaching from the same vector as they were. To meet them was an equally large force of Erusean fighters.

'_This looks like one hell of a party.' _Wiseman commented once he saw the aerial forces opposing them. Blaze scoffed. The number of aircraft between the two sides were the same, but a third of the Erusean aircraft were attackers which tilted the air-to-air advantage in favour of the Oseans. The city of Farbanti became visible in the distance. Smoke was already rising up from certain vital points in the outskirts, and there were very few radar emitters on the surface. The Navy had done a good job of clearing out the major threats in their SEAD and DEAD attacks. In the far distance the sun was shining as it approached sunset. Blaze flipped down his tinted visor to keep the glare down.

'Razgriz, head on and engage hostile aircraft confronting our ground troops.' Blaze ordered his black-clad squadron to divert from the formation and to go and attack the enemy A-10s. They were the ones armed solely with air-to-air missiles for the first sortie. They approached the front-lines. Strider Squadron peeled off from the formation and headed out to sea, while Cyclops went towards Silver Bridge.

Of the four Razgriz aircraft, Blaze took the first shot, aiming and firing a four-shot salvo at a squadron of A-10Cs hunting the first line of Osean tanks. His AMRAAMs slammed into the slow and heavy attack aircraft. The missiles only took down one of four. The other three were damaged but were able to keep flying. Blaze reminded himself that the Warthogs were very heavily armoured before going after them and finishing the survivors off with his cannon. The Razgriz divided into two pairs. Blaze and Grimm went after the heavily-armoured A-10Cs and Su-25s while Snow and Mythic pounced on the more agile F-15Es and Su-34s. Blaze and Grimm gunned down the surviving A-10s, and then diverted to a second group of A-10s that were approaching the Osean vehicle columns.

'Aim for the canopy.' Blaze said to Grimm, himself aiming at the cockpit of the leader's A-10 and firing a short burst. While an A-10's canopy was effectively immune to small arms fire, the 23-millimetre shells fired by the cannon of Blaze's Su-33 were not small. They broke clean through the canopy and shot into the pilot, tearing him into bloody chunks. Blaze quickly banked to one side and did the same to the closest wingman, taking down two without wasting too much ammo. Grimm followed Blaze's example and quickly took down the other two Warthogs with his own 27-millimetre cannon. Four more aircraft joined the scrapyard.

The Lightning II/Tomcat pair intercepted a group of F-15Es doing bombing runs on the tank columns from high altitude. Climbing up from below, Mythic took the lead in firing on the enemy Strike Eagles with Sidewinders. The Eagle pilots weren't paying attention and so none of them saw the four IR-guided missiles that shot all four of them out of the skies. A nearby F-15J squad saw their fighter-bomber brothers get shot down and turned to engage the offending aces. Snow fired on them with AMRAAMs from his wing-mounted weapon pods. The leader and the pilot in the trail position evaded. The other two did not. The two surviving F-15Js split away from each other, firing at the F-14 and F-35 in the process. Snow and Mythic both turned out of the way of the missiles, evading them, before turning back and chasing down the offending Eagles in a close-quarters dogfight. Mythic went after the leader and after a very brief dogfight managed to catch him with an off-bore Sidewinder and shot him down. Over with the Tomcat, Snow started firing AMRAAMs from just out of dogfighting distance at the surviving Eagle. His first two missed as the pilot desperately tried to evade, but after using all of his kinetic energy dodging, the third one caught him right in the cockpit and destroyed the aircraft, killing the pilot in the process. Snow and Mythic joined back up and went after other fighter-bombers in the area.

Off of Farbanti's coast, Trigger didn't even think the OMDF's fleet needed their support. The scale between the Osean and Erusean fleets were so out of proportion it wasn't even a fair fight for the Eruseans. The Erusean fleet consisted of three _Kirov_-class battlecruisers, two _Slava_-class cruisers, five _Udaloy_-class destroyers, two _Atago_-class destroyers and four _Admiral Gorshkov_-class frigates. On the other hand, the Osean fleet consisted of three _Iowa_-class battleships, two _Alaska_-class battlecruisers, a _Vulture II_-class carrier, two _Hubert_-class carriers, six _San Antonio_-class LPDs, three _Wasp_-class LHDs, five _Tarawa_-class LHAs, ten _Ticonderoga_-class cruisers of both Flight I and II builds and thirty _Arleigh Burke_-class destroyers of mostly Flight IIA subclasses. That was sixteen ships against sixty-two in the vanguard. By the time Strider Squadron had arrived on station, that number was dropping.

* * *

Onboard the battleship OFS _Maya, _gunnery officer Lieutenant-Commander Ronald Hunter was guiding the combined fire of the three main gun turrets against one of the Erusean _Kirovs. _There was chatter from the other crew members in the CIC, tracking and intercepting threats that approached the fleet. Through the hull and over the overpowering voice of the crew, Hunter vaguely heard one of the CIWS turrets spin up and engage something.

'Missile incoming, brace for impact!' A radar operator reported. Everyone in the CIC held onto something, preparing for the shock from a missile impact. There was a light shockwave that went through the ship followed by a muffled _boom. _A missile had slammed into the _Maya's _armoured broadside. However, the bulk of the force was absorbed by the armoured belt and very little damage was sustained. In reply, Hunter checked the fire-control data being handed to him by the ship's surface tracking radar. A destroyer was charging their gunline. Sighing in disappointment, Hunter locked in the tracking data, confirmed with the TAO he was clear to fire and on the press of a button, nine 16-inch shells left the barrels of the main guns and flew towards the destroyer heading towards them.

A few seconds passed. The TAO reported to Hunter on the status of those shells.

'Target has been destroyed!' The TAO called out. The battleship's main guns had completely destroyed the ship coming after them. 'Switch fire to the AEGIS destroyers.'

* * *

Strider Squad beat them to hitting one of the _Atago_-class DDGs. Trigger, flying along in his F-22, came along at very low altitude aiming for the midsection of the ship. As he got closer, Trigger opened the weapons bay containing a mixture of AMRAAMs and GBU-39 SBDs, pulled the nose up slightly so that the bombsight lined up with the forward quarter of the ship and fired. Trigger released four SBDs before pulling up sharply to avoid smashing into the side of the ship. Trigger looked back as he climbed. The bombs slammed into the hull, broke through and exploded inside. To finish off the ship, Trigger then pushed his nose back and fell down towards the destroyer, dropping the remainder of his SBDs as he got close and leveled out. The destroyer shuddered as parts of its superstructure were blown outwards. The command deck went up in flames.

'_AEGIS destroyer Talifen has been crippled. Nice work, Strider.' _Long Caster congratulated them on a mission kill. Not answering, Trigger targeted an Su-34 that was flying around the Erusean fleet looking for an opportunity to strike at the Osean ships. He didn't find one before Trigger came up behind him and quickly sent him spiralling into the sea with the Fullback's engines gone, hit by a Sidewinder. Trigger was now left with some AMRAAMs and Sidewinders in the internal weapons bay and Mavericks on external pylons.

'Lanza, your turn to shine.' Trigger said to the pilot flying his previous aircraft, the modified F-15E.

'_Roger.' _Lanza acknowledged, going after the other AEGIS destroyer. He went in on a dive, evading a missile that targeted the F-15E as he did so, and dropped four cluster bombs on the ship. Against a ship with no armour plating, the bomblets shredded straight through every external structure that the ship contained. Radars, weaponry, metal and anything on the deckhouse of the ship was destroyed. The bomblets then peeled away the hull and damaged a lot more internal structures. Smoke from the explosions covered the ship for a few moments. When that smoke cleared, the ship was a mess. It wouldn't sink, but it was no longer combat capable. At least, it wouldn't have sunk until one of the battlecruisers, _Alaska_, slammed it with a full salvo of twelve-inch shells. The destroyer exploded, the shells absolutely shattering the hull of the ship. It broke in half and rapidly started sinking. Trigger felt bad for the crew of the ship. Did they really deserve to get hit when they were out of action?

'_Trigger, we've got incoming fighters.' _Jaeger pointed out the eight-man squad of Sea Harrier FR1s approaching Strider. Trigger pointed his Raptor towards the Harriers. The Eagle pilots did the same. The Harriers fired first, launching radar-guided missiles from medium range. The Strider aircraft evaded successfully. Trigger saw one of the missiles shoot past him, barely out of detonation range. Whistling to himself, Trigger took the opportunity to fire back, launching his own AMRAAMs at the enemy Harriers. Skald and Lanza fired back in sync with Trigger. It took Jaeger a few seconds to get back into a firing arc. The AMRAAMs streaked forward towards the VTOL-capable but slower and less maneuverable Harriers. Six of eight were downed. The other two moved back into position to take another shot at the Oseans, but Jaeger's missiles arrived just on time to slam the remaining two and turn them into fireballs. All eight Harriers down, Strider fell back into formation.

'Strider, move towards the Reconstruction Park.' Trigger ordered his squad. 'We'll support friendlies on the ground.'

'_Copy.' _Strider acknowledged.

Back on Razgriz Squad, Blaze and his crew were tangling with enemy fighter bombers and interceptors. There were many intense dogfights that didn't last very long as the pilots of the Razgriz shredded every enemy they came across. Blaze took on a pair of F-14Bs at once, destroying one with his cannon and hitting the second with a Sidewinder, destroying it as well. He then split from the burning coffins of the Tomcats and stuck to a Gripen-E, chasing it for a little while before shooting an IR-guided missile right up its tailpipe and destroying it. In the same general area, Snow was using the large amounts of missiles he had to his advantage and took long and medium-range potshots at the countless numbers of enemy fighters. A trio of Tu-142 ASW aircraft were blown out the air the moment they lifted off from the airport. Four F-16Cs gunning after Osean armoured transports were shot to shit when AMRAAMs peppered their bodies with molten shrapnel. A pair of AH-64Ds that decided to expose themselves were punished for it when Snow swatted them with missiles.

Also operating nearby were Grimm and Mythic in their pair, flying side by side to destroy anything that got in their way. F-15s were blown away. Su-35s and Su-37s quickly found themselves without living pilots if they got in the way. A four-man squad of what appeared to be some sort of ace unit flying specially-painted Su-47s tried to get around the two, and Mythic destroyed all four of them in one salvo. She was absolutely vicious in the F-35. However, that salvo exhausted her of her remaining air to air missiles.

'_Razgriz 4, Winchester on AAMs.' _Mythic reported this to the team. Nearby, Blaze used up one of his last remaining Sidewinders to take down an Su-37. He was out of air-to-air missiles as well.

'Razgriz 1, Winchester for missiles. Long Caster, requesting a divert to the nearest friendly station.' Blaze called this out on the radio.

'_Copy. Blaze, Mythic, change bearing to 2-2-0. The carrier Hubert is open.' _ Long Caster answered the ammo call of the two fighters. Blaze and Mythic broke out of combat and headed out to sea. Not too far out beyond the horizon, there were carriers launching aircraft and providing rearmament and refuelling support. _Hubert, _one of the carriers that Blaze and Snow had flown off at the start of the war, was one of those carriers.

That left Snow and Grimm as the only two Razgriz currently in combat. Grimm, ever the confident pilot, took an enemy Gripen for a ride around the submerged city district. The enemy aircraft tried to take a missile shot, but Grimm entered the maze of destroyed buildings and turned sharply around a corner, making the missile lose its target and slam into a building. The Gripen refused to play Grimm's game and ascended above the building layer. This played into his favour as Grimm did a loop to get out of the buildings and ended up right behind the Gripen. The latter never noticed that he had been outplayed until a Sidewinder found the tailpipe of his aircraft and in one fell swoop killed him and destroyed his aircraft. Done toying around, Grimm went off to go annoy some ground attack aircraft. Snow joined him on that adventure.

'_Do we take on the Strike Eagles or the Warthogs?' _Snow asked, referring to which set of aircraft they should attack. Grimm looked up. The four-man of enemy F-15Es were closer and a more pressing threat to the ground forces.

'Eagles. The others can deal with the A-10s.' Grimm said, turning around and banking upwards to catch up with the F-15s. Snow and Grimm approached the fighter-bombers from below and behind.

'Hey Marcus, you want to know what I've noticed?' Grimm asked his wingman while they flew up to give chase.

'_What?' _Snow asked.

'There aren't any drones here.' Grimm answered. Snow thought about that for a few seconds.

'_We haven't seen any drones since the Stonehenge operation, period.' _He mentioned. Grimm thought about _that. _Snow was right. The LRSSG had not encountered any MQ-99s or MQ-101s since Operation Dragon Breath, on the 19th of August. Almost a full month ago.

'Think that's a bad thing?' Grimm broadly asked as he took a potshot at the leader of the F-15 formation. At the range he had fired, there was no way for the missile to miss. One of four down.

'_I think we'll have some cleaning up to do after this mission.' _Snow admitted, following Grimm's missile strike with a three-shot burst at the survivors. Two were destroyed, one evaded successfully.

'So much for this being the final mission of the war.' Grimm mused, sighing afterwards as he shot down the last Eagle in a short dogfight with his cannon, hitting both the pilot and WSO with one burst and sending the aircraft to its final grave.

'_At the very least the rest of the war should be easy going.' _Snow was positive at least. Without organised resistance from the Erusean armed forces, any sort of military push would be a lot easier.

Further out to sea, onboard the _Vulture II, _Talon slid the visor of her helmet down to block out the glare that was staring her down in the cockpit of an F-35C. The carrier was facing directly into the sun. She looked at her weapons display panel. On her wings were four AGM-135 anti-satellite missiles. An old relic of the 1980s, they were still very capable of knocking things out of orbit and the abundance of the weapon meant that it was being deployed wherever it could be carried. Talon's squadron of F-35s was one such unit as they could carry them under the wing pylons.

'_Panther Squad, clear for takeoff. Call it.' _The bubble operator, one of the flight crew sitting in the little glass canopy between the catapults, called out to Talon and the other three pilots in her squad. Talon saluted the operator and as per protocol she found herself flying down the deck and into the sky. Panthers 2, 3 and 4 weren't far behind. They flew away from the carrier and started heading towards their assigned firing zone. Panther's target was a group of military communication satellites.

Back in the Farbanti war zone, Strider Squadron was assisting the Osean troops occupied in the Reconstruction Park. Namely, they were going around eliminating any source of major resistance. For Trigger, this involved doing laps around the various suburb streets and hitting armoured vehicles with Maverick AGMs. That Leopard 2A5 in the street? Gone. A convoy of troops trucks? Eradicated. A pair of ZSUs lighting up the aircraft and helicopters that passed it? One blew up as its ammo was compromised by a Maverick, but Trigger noticed that he was out of air-to-ground weapons as he flew over the surviving SPAAG vehicle. That survivor didn't get to celebrate its life for long as Jaeger hit it with one of his own Mavericks.

Out of any meaningful weaponry for the job, Trigger looked around on the tactical map to check the progress of the various fronts. The army was steadily pressing inwards, supported by naval gunfire support from the ships quickly making steam towards Farbanti Harbour. The major designated points of resistance were being hammered by the big guns from the battleships and battlecruisers, which made things easier for the support aircraft. In the skies, there was nowhere safe for Erusean aircraft to hide as the destroyers in the water and the overwhelming number of aircraft in the skies had the entire area covered. That said, the Eruseans weren't letting up in the air and casualties among other squadrons were starting to mount.

'Strider 1, detaching to rearm.' Trigger reported, splitting off from his squad for the short term to go pick up more weapons. As a pilot of an Air Force aircraft, he had to fly out to a field a little ways away from the city.

While Trigger was leaving the AO to grab some more weapons, Blaze and Mythic were returning to the AO after having grabbed more weapons. They were both loaded for a large air-to-air engagement. Razgriz 1 and Razgriz 4 entered the area of engagement into a place where the Oseans had stirred the hornet's nest. Over the Silver Bridge area, there were dozens upon dozens of close-range dogfights happening between various aircraft of all types. The proximity of this fight between the two sides was denying any support from the OMDF AEGIS-equipped destroyers. Blaze and Mythic both joined in on the action, looking to assist the exhausted OADF and OMDF fighter aircraft.

'_New enemy reinforcements coming in from the west. Hornets and Tomcats.' _Long Caster pointed out to the LRSSG. Blaze looked. Sixteen aircraft, four squads of F/A-18Cs and F-14Ds.

'Razgriz, divert to intercept those reinforcements.' Blaze ordered his squad. He and Mythic turned away from the giant fight to head back out to sea and gain altitude. Snow and Grimm broke out of the big engagement to come along with the other two. Flying in a column formation, the four black-bodied aircraft ascended to meet with the enemy fighters. Blaze was wondering where they came from. They clearly came from a carrier, but where?

Ignoring that question for a moment to focus on the aircraft, Blaze was the first from the squad to fire at the enemy, in this case firing a single AMRAAM at one of the Tomcats. The Tomcat didn't evade and just took the missile without a fight. This alerted Blaze. Fighter pilots didn't just take missiles for no reason. The various surviving aircraft formed a ring around one of the centre F/A-18Cs. Blaze saw a white bomb-looking object on the centre pylon of that Hornet. He quickly recognised the shape of that bomb and recalled that specific bomb's purpose.

'All elements on this channel, NUCFLASH, NUCFLASH!' Blaze called out urgently on the radio. NUCFLASH was the keyword used by the Osean Defence Forces for the enemy deployment of a nuclear weapon. The Erusean F/A-18 had a B61 GPS-guided nuclear bomb, a weapon that had a maximum destructive capability of 400 kilotons.

'_Come again?' _Count asked, making sure he had heard that right.

'_Razgriz, intercept and destroy the carrier before it gets into drop range!' _Long Caster ordered the closest squad to the nuclear carrier. Blaze, Snow, Grimm and Mythic all pressed their aircraft to full speed to close the distance. They all volley-fired a lot of AMRAAMs at the enemy fighters, looking to take all of them out so that the bomb didn't get close. A wave of twenty missiles from the four aircraft went forward and out towards the formation of fighters. The fighters that weren't carrying a nuclear weapon all surged out in front of the target Hornet and blocked the missiles. There was a giant collective fireball as all of the missiles exploded in roughly the same area and took down most of the escorts with it. The Hornet carrying the nuke appeared from underneath the fireball of death. Three other Hornets and a Tomcat were still following it.

'Jesus christ.' Blaze muttered to himself, getting in nice and close to fire a Sidewinder. Unfortunately, the Tomcat's pilot did something suicidal and threw himself at Blaze. The latter rolled out of the way, evading the Tomcat but losing the lock on the nuke Hornet at the same time. Cursing, Blaze used that Sidewinder on the Tomcat and damaged it enough to keep it out of the way. Grimm took Blaze's spot and fired one of his own Sidewinders at the nuke Hornet. The escorts couldn't get in the way quick enough to block it, but they didn't have to. The nuke Hornet had some sort of electronic field surrounding it that could scramble the sensors on their missiles. Grimm's Sidewinder went crazy and went spiralling off in a random direction. It went in a random enough direction to hit the already damaged Tomcat, destroying it with the second hit.

'_The target's got a disruption field affecting missiles. Hit it with your cannon.' _Grimm reported this to the other members in the squad. Snow was the closest to taking the shot. The Super Tomcat pilot wasted little time in firing a long burst. The 20-millimetre shells shot out of the barrel of the M61 Vulcan and headed towards the nuke Hornet. They did nothing. As if stopped by some sort of invisible barrier, the various shells suddenly stopped on that field but then started falling after they left the proximity of the aircraft. Snow noticed that the nuke Hornet wasn't taking any damage from the cannon shells. He got onto the Hornet's tail and fired both an AMRAAM and a short cannon burst at it. The missile was affected by the same thing that Grimm's Sidewinder had and went flying downwards, scrambled, and the cannon shells stopped just before hitting the aircraft.

'_It's got some kind of magnetic field as well. Can't touch it with my cannon.'_ Snow calmly reported, although the aircraft was getting too close to the city for comfort. Blaze came around to Snow's position and fired at the aircraft with his bigger 23-millimetre cannon. The gun roared, but the magnetic had the same effect on the shells, nullifying them. Blaze cursed. Razgriz couldn't touch it with their missiles or their guns.

'_Now what, captain?' _Grimm asked. They were all out of options.

_No, _Blaze thought to himself. _We've still got our aircraft._

'Grimm, form up on his left wing. We'll push him into the ocean.' Blaze ordered him.

'_Doing.' _Grimm moved to the position that Blaze had ordered him to.

'Snow, Mythic, take care of the escort fighters.' Blaze directed the other two. They both acknowledged before breaking away to shoot down the unprotected Hornets. Blaze took up position on the nuke Hornet's right wing. Once he was close enough, Blaze started inching towards the Hornet until he could make contact with the aircraft's body with his own wings.

'Grimm, now.' Blaze spoke to his wingman. The two made contact with the Hornet's wings with their own and pulled down. The two had more thrust and power than the Hornet and so they started pointing the aircraft towards the ocean. Blaze looked into the cockpit of the nuke Hornet. No point. The canopy was tinted with some sort of one-way material. Something else he noticed was that the Hornet had no external markings of any kind. It had the paint scheme used by the Erusean Navy, but it didn't have a country marking, no unit markings and no other sorts of unique identifiers. Grimm and Blaze were slowly bringing the Hornet towards the ocean. A few seconds ago they had started at level flight. Now they were at a 25-degree incline and still descending. Blaze checked his altimetre. Three thousand metres and dropping rapidly.

'_Captain-' _Grimm had seen how quickly they were dropping as well. They were now at a 40-degree incline and the drop was starting to get faster.

'I know.' Blaze cut Grimm off. 45 degrees. 50 degrees. 55. 60. Blaze checked the altimetre. Five hundred metres. Blaze and Grimm only had a second or two to pull up before they would end up hitting the deck.

'Grimm, up, NOW!' Blaze guessed when that moment would be and pulled away from the Hornet, an orange-haired Typhoon pilot in tow. Five hundred. Four hundred. Three hundred. Two hundred. Time seemed to get slower as the altimeter started reading double digits.

_Come on, you ungainly bitch, _Blaze cursed internally as he levelled out his aircraft. It was a close one. At the speeds they had been going, manuevering wasn't gainly. Blaze and Grimm levelled out at a bare thirty metres above the surface. They were lucky to be in hypermanuerable aircraft. The nuke Hornet didn't have that advantage and found itself hitting the ocean surface at supersonic speeds, shattering the aircraft along with its 400-kiloton payload.

'NUCFLASH threat down!' Blaze called out. There were a few sighs of relief over the radio. Blaze silently let out a breath. They had been dangerously close to the coast of Farbanti.

'_NUCFLASH? What in the fuck did I just miss?' _Trigger asked. He had just gotten back from quickly rearming.

'Let's just say we came very close to getting a nuke dropped on our heads.' Blaze summarised quickly. 'Razgriz, form up and move to Silver Bridge. We've still got a battle to fight.'


	58. Chapter 56 - The Black Raven (Part III)

While Blaze and his crew were busy dealing with a potential nuclear strike, on the other side of the continent a lone wolf was occupied with his assigned mission.

* * *

'_Target zone is on the beach. There's a small police presence around.' _AWACS High Watcher reported to Raven. The latter was flying his signature Su-57 over the ocean nearby the capital city of Saint Ark. His target, a foreign and black-painted aircraft according to the image being projected by his AWACS, was parked in the sand of a beach outside of the city. Raven had a simple plan. He would land on the beach, use a system of ropes he had attached to one of his weapon bays to nab the target and bring it back to the _Lekk. _

'Inform me if there are any additional dispatches.' Raven requested from his AWACS. The beach became visible in the distance as he drew closer to the target zone. Raven reached to a lever at the side of the cockpit and pulled on it. The Su-57 started to slow, as the dual engines turned towards the ground and the vents on the wings opened. Raven's Su-57 was an Su-57C variant; the only one of its type. Aside from having a different set of avionics, the 57C was also VTOL-capable. Raven pulled up slightly to slow down until he was at a hover over the beachhead. He inched forward a little bit to get closer to the target drone. There were police officers on the beach, all spreading out, confused as to why an Su-57 was giving them a visit. Once close enough, Raven opened the weapons bay that had the cargo rope in it. The ropes spooled out onto the ground as Raven lowered his landing gear and landed on the soft sand.

'Sorry about this.' Raven muttered to himself as he grabbed his weapon from the bottom of the cockpit - an MP5K submachine gun - and exited the cockpit. Two of the four _policia _approached the pilot warily. Raven jumped down to the sand, raised his MP5K and fired two suppressed shots. Both bullets hit and killed their respective targets. One of the other officers saw his men drop dead. He reached hastily for his sidearm, a second too slow. Raven nailed him square in the chest with a two-tap, dropping the third officer. He scanned around for the fourth.

'Hey-' The fourth man called from over a sand dune, revealing his position. Raven whipped around and fired four bullets. The first missed, the second and third hit the last police officer in the centre of the chest and the fourth entered through his nose and out the back of his head, dropping the fourth and last officer. All targets down, Raven slung the MP5 around his back and started the process of hooking up his target to the rope system he had brought with him. Raven walked over to the Su-57 and grabbed the bundle of ropes. They were heavy and thick, a necessary side effect of having to carry a large load, but Raven managed to get them over to whatever the hell the target was. Raven analyzed the aircraft as he got to work. Black body. It was a small aircraft, and it looked like it had been involved in a serious dogfight. Paint had been scratched off in many areas, and there were shrapnel and cannon holes over the entire thing. One resemblance that Raven noticed was that the aircraft's frontal cockpit area resembled a particular advanced fighter that he had heard about from the coup-d'etat in 1998.

'As an officer of the Saint Ark Police Department, I place you under arrest!' A man from behind Raven half-shouted and half-gargled. Raven turned around. It was the third officer that he had shot. He wasn't dead but he _was _bleeding heavily from the chest cavity. He had his badge in hand. Sighing in disappointment, Raven quickly attached one of the rope bundles he had in his hand to the aircraft, unslung his MP5K and mercilessly ended the officer's life with a single bullet to the head. The latter dropped like a stone. Just to make sure, Raven put an extra three bullets into the man's dead body. Now that he was alone, Raven went around to the other side of the target aircraft, attached the remaining two ropes and then went back over to his idling Su-57. Raven strapped in, shut the canopy and lifted off from the beach with the target aircraft in tow. Raven steadily hovered away and towards the _Lekk. _

'_Ingress alert. Four aircraft of various types approaching the area from the west at high speed.' _High Watcher reported as Raven went feet wet. He checked his radar and his tactical display. Indeed, four aircraft were approaching the zone where he had just extracted the target aircraft. A Typhoon, an F-16C, an F-14D, and an aircraft reading as unknown. Raven steadily hovered towards the _Lekk. _He couldn't fight them effectively while carrying a heavy load.

'High Watcher, why am I seeing an unknown contact?' Raven questioned his AWACS. An aircraft with no known radar signature was never a good sign.

'_That is…' _High Watcher explained but paused for a moment. '_...a very good question. Unknown contact has no matching radar signature in the database.'_

Raven checked the distance between him and the ingressing group. Sixty kilometres and closing fast. Raven estimated he only had a couple of minutes before they would be right on top of him. Enough time to get the load onto the _Lekk _and to set up for a fight.

'Tap their communications. If they know something, I want to hear about it.' Raven ordered High Watcher. There were a few moments of silence before foreign voices came up on Raven's radio. The enemy radio channel had been successfully tapped.

'_Airspace around the area is empty.' _One of the enemy pilots had been saying. Belkan accent. Raven was intrigued. His handler was right about Belkans being involved.

'_Good. The less casualties, the better.' _Another of the pilots spoke. Raven recognised the voice of the pilot. An ace pilot from the Belkan War. Harald Brehme, a former pilot of the BAF's Schwarze Team. Raven's handler was also right about Belkan _aces _being involved.

'The plot thickens.' Raven mused openly.

'_You know one of them?' _High Watcher asked quizzically.

'Pilot of the unknown aircraft is Harald Brehme, or Schwarze Three. MiG-31 ace from Operation Battle-Axe.' Raven explained.

'_Ah. A Knight of the Round Table.' _High Watcher seemed to understand. '_Aircraft are slowing down. Wait. The unknown aircraft just fired a projectile in your direction.' _

_Oh, fucking brilliant. _Raven thought to himself as he inched closer and closer to the _Lekk. _Raven saw the aforementioned projectile approach him at an alarming pace. Raven tilted his engines to get more forward momentum. The receiving pad of the _Lekk _was a bare couple of kilometres away. There was no radar warning from the projectile, and it didn't appear to be moving to intercept a target. The projectile reached the point where the target had been, and exploded. Spectacularly. There was a giant flash that engulfed the entire beach and shook the ocean away from that area for a brief moment. A white fireball was preceded by a shockwave that reached out the few kilometres to Raven's aircraft. The Su-57 was moved violently along with the shockwave, the added weight of his catch also throwing him off course, but Raven managed to correct the error induced by the shockwave before he and his cargo went into the drink. Raven looked back towards the beach. There was a large crater where the weapon had exploded. Right over where he had been a minute or two ago. Ignoring for a moment that he had been fairly close to being wiped off the face of the Earth, Raven closed the final kilometre to the _Lekk. _

'Dropping.' Raven declared as he passed over the frontal deck of his ship, touched down the target and then released the ropes from his internal weapons bay. Deckhands onboard the ship ran out to tie down the drone. Raven pulled away from the _Lekk, _went into normal flight mode and turned in the direction of the pilots who had fired that projectile at him, ready to intercept.

'_Are you sure that's a good idea?' _High Watcher asked after witnessing a missile damn near eradicate a wide area.

'Surely he's only got one of those projectiles.' Raven reassured both himself and High Watcher while kicking his aircraft into afterburner mode to catch up with the people with the missiles. After closing the distance from sixty kilometres to twenty, Raven fired a missile at the rear bird in the line, the F-16C.

'_Shit! Missile lock!' _The F-16 pilot pointed out while going into a sweeping turn to evade. The entire formation split apart as each pilot went their separate way to not form one gigantic radar return signature.

'_Where the hell?' _The F-14 pilot asked, looking for the offending aircraft who had fired at them. Raven's missile missed. He waited until he could see the Belkan aircraft before firing another missile, again at the F-16C. His second missile didn't miss. The Fighting Falcon was split in two by his missile and disintegrated in mid-air, killing the pilot.

'_Sven is down. No parachute.' _The Typhoon pilot saw the F-16 explode. '_Attacker is in sight. Su-57 with a custom paintjob, no apparent unit markings.' _

'_Helmut, Roald, take him on. I'm of little help here.' _The pilot in the unknown aircraft, Harald, ordered. The Typhoon and the F-14D turned to attack Raven. They couldn't gain a radar lock on him, courtesy of some custom modifications, so instead they used IR-guided missiles to attack with. Raven turned out of the way of two missiles coming his way, firing one of his own IR-guided ASRAAMs as he did so. The two Belkan AA-11 Archer missiles missed their target, but Raven's ASRAAM didn't. The missile shot through the air intakes underneath the cockpit and exploded somewhere inside the engine bay of the aircraft, destroying it. The pilot managed to eject before the entire aircraft was destroyed. As he shot by the F-14, Raven noticed that the unknown aircraft was running away from combat.

'Analyse that aircraft.' Raven said to High Watcher. 'I need to know what I'm dealing with.'

While High Watcher began an analysis of the aircraft to determine its capabilities, Raven turned around to take care of the remaining fighter aircraft. He pulled a tight turn to get on the back of the less maneuverable Tomcat. He then closed the distance, looking to get a kill with his aircraft's cannon. Raven chased down the Tomcat, following all of the fancy turns it did trying to get out of the gunsight of the attacking Su-57. None worked as Raven forced the Tomcat into a climb straight up where he first fired up his tailpipe and knocked out an engine before ripping a wing off. The F-14 fell to its side and toward the floor, out of control. The pilot ejected, unable to regain control of his aircraft before it hit the grassland below. The three fighters all down, Raven turned for the unknown aircraft and went to chase it.

'Where's that analysis at?' Raven asked. He needed it now more than ever.

'_Getting there, nothing like it's ever been seen. It's some kind of large advanced ground attack aircraft. Capabilities unknown.' _High Watcher reported what he had gathered to the Su-57 veteran. Raven had the speed advantage and closed on the attacker aircraft. High Watcher was right. Compared to his aircraft, the unknown was much larger, especially in terms of wingspan. The unknown saw that it was being tailed and started moving around to throw away any kind of lock. It had decent maneuverability for an aircraft its size, but nowhere near enough to get an Su-57 off its tail. Raven fired a pair of ASRAAMs at it. One hit, damaging the aircraft. He started pumping cannon rounds into the body of the aircraft. They tore away plating from the black body of the craft, ripping into the internal compartments and damaging or outright destroying vital systems. The aircraft started to slow down as one engine shut off.

'_Alright, alright!' _The pilot of the attack aircraft relented, leveling out and intending to surrender. Raven formed up directly behind and above the attacker. He wasn't going to let the man leave alive, Raven was well aware of Schwarze Squadron's reputation. But he wanted to confirm some things before he _did _kill him.

'Is your crew formed of Belkan War veterans?' Raven asked the first of three questions.

'_Yes, all of us.' _Harald answered quickly.

'Are you involved in this war?' Raven asked his second.

'_Partially.' _Harald answered as quickly as he did the first time. Raven was satisfied with the answer.

'Last question. Do you happen to know where a pilot called Phoenix is?' Raven asked his last question.

'_No. I've never heard of a pilot going by that name.' _Harald answered. He was starting to calm down.

'Thought not. Alright, you can go.' Raven said, but indicated otherwise with his actions by firing a cannon burst into the cockpit of the unknown and quite large futuristic attack aircraft. The shells went through whatever sort of cover was over the canopy and tore the pilot to shreds. Now unmanned, the aircraft fell to the ground where it would crash and burn. Raven turned back towards the _Lekk, _his mission complete and a side objective finished. Now all that he had to do was bring his ship and his catch out to the point designated by his handler.

As Raven came for a landing approach on the _Lekk's _forward deck, he wondered if he would have any additional tasking following this.


	59. Chapter 57 - Battle of Farbanti Part II

Back at Farbanti, the battle was starting to let up. The Oseans were now starting to roll through what remained of the sophisticated defences laid down by the Eruseans. At the very front of the spearhead was the LRSSG hammering the remaining pockets of resistance to clear a path for the ground troops. Strider and Razgriz were focusing on the aircraft opposing a naval landing while Cyclops dealt with hostile ground forces.

'_All aircraft, listen carefully. This is Long Caster. We have the upper hand, and the enemy headquarters is almost ours.' _Long Caster said to the LRSSG while they kicked the ass of anyone who got in their way. '_Operation to eliminate all enemy satellites is also underway. All going according to plan.' _

'_I thought we were meant to undergo the ASAT mission?' _Trigger asked. That had been part of their briefing.

'_...Mostly going according to plan.' _Long Caster corrected himself. '_The end of the war is in sight. Think of something you'd like to eat guys, 'cause I'm buying.' _

Blaze did a sideways Cobra to get behind a Rafale M that had been chasing him and shot him down with a single well-placed Sidewinder. That was the last of the air targets in the area.

'_Man, don't jinx us.' _Wiseman replied to Long Caster's prior announcement. Blaze winced.

'_Ah, you're right.' _Long Caster paused for a moment after saying that. '_New bogies- no, five Su-30s inbound for the fleet!' _

'_It's Mister X.' _Wiseman saw the five aircraft approaching the ships that were coming in to dock at the port. Blaze saw them as well. Four of them, Su-30M2s, were at a standoff distance while the leader flying an Su-30SM was coming in at super low-level while doing supersonic speeds. The SM pilot released two missiles at a cruiser - the OFS _Freya. _The latter's CIWS was firing at the Flanker in an attempt to hit it, but being an old gun its tracking software was bugged and so took two anti-ship missiles in the side over the engine bay. The ship shuddered from the impact. The Su-30SM climbed sharply and then fell back towards the _Freya_, firing another two missiles in the process. As the pilot leveled out, those two missiles entered through the cruiser's flight deck and entered the engine bay for a second time. _Freya _was rendered dead in the water by the four impacts. The Su-30SM pulled away from the cruiser and went into formation with his squad. That squad then flew into Farbanti's airspace.

'Jesus christ.' Blaze saw the _Freya _get pounded and crippled. 'Razgriz, move to engage the enemy squad.'

Razgriz came into their own formation and went off to fight the Erusean aces.

'_The leader is beyond anything I've ever seen, but don't underestimate the others either.' _Grimm mentioned to the LRSSG. He knew the best out of all of them, having faced them twice in the past.

'_LRSSG, emergency order from mission command. Bring down Mister X.' _Long Caster officially gave them the order to engage with the enemy. Blaze didn't hesitate. The instant he saw Mihaly separate from the formation, Blaze split off from his own squad to go give chase. Mihaly attempted to take a shot at a group of troop transports on the ground. Blaze fired a cannon burst at the Erusean ace to get him to break off. Mihaly managed to get one missile off at the cluster of infantry before turning in the opposite direction, chased by Blaze.

'_When I last saw you over the ocean, I wondered if you were going to be around for the war. My assumption was correct.' _Mihaly spoke directly to Blaze on a private channel.

'I'm not an old man just yet.' Blaze retorted, chasing Mihaly into the clouds. Blaze got a missile lock with a Sidewinder and fired, but the missile missed and then he lost Mihaly in the clouds. Blaze burst through the cloud layer and out into open air, but Mihaly was nowhere to be seen. Blaze looked around. There was no sign of him. _Where in the fuck did you go, old man?_

Fencer found that out the hard way. As he was trying to get Sol 5 to stay in a straight line by baiting him out so that Count could shoot him down, Mihaly appeared from above him and forced a missile right into the top of his aircraft. Fencer grunted with the shockwave and explosion. Shrapnel from the explosion entered both of his engines, destroying all methods of producing thrust that he had. Fencer reached for the ejection handle.

'This is Cyclops 3, I have to bail out.' Fencer reported to Long Caster before pulling that handle and getting blown out of the cockpit. As he went up, his Eagle exploded, hit by a missile from the aircraft chasing him. That attacking aircraft was then itself hit by one of Count's missiles, so the bait had worked. The black and orange Su-30 yawed to one side before getting hit by a second missile at which point the pilot wisely decided to eject.

Meanwhile, the third wingmen of Razgriz and Sol Squadrons were tangling with each other. Grimm versus Seymour. Flying supermaneuverable aircraft, the two were on par in skill with each other. One would be attacking, which would quickly change as the other pulled some sort of crazy maneuver that put them behind the attacker and made them the hunter. Grimm had one advantage over Seymour. He had a fair bit of combat experience.

At a point in their dogfight where Seymour was about to get out of the defending position by committing to a Cobra, Grimm pulled to the side and whipped the nose around so that as Seymour passed him, Grimm was flying backwards while facing the Su-30. Cutting his engines so that he could maintain some forward-moving velocity, Grimm managed to catch a glimpse of Seymour's surprise and horror before firing a cannon burst into the unarmoured front of Seymour's plane. The shells tore through the nose, engine intakes and canopy of the Su-30M2, crippling it. As the broken aircraft shot by Grimm, he looked in his top-mounted mirrors and saw that the pilot of the aircraft had ejected. Two down, three to go. Grimm looked for Mister X. He was flying around unattended to, wreaking havoc on allied fighter squadrons.

'_What are they doing? They don't have nearly enough weapons between all of them to stop this invasion.' _Lanza questioned. He did have a point. The Su-30s could only take out a few squadrons of aircraft at best.

'_No, but if we leave them be they're gonna cause one hell of a dent.' _Blaze pointed out while looking around for Mihaly. He saw that Wiseman and Trigger were on him. Deciding that they had the situation under control, Blaze went after one of the other Sol Squadron pilots.

Wiseman and Trigger didn't exactly have the situation under control. For a few minutes they attempted to chase down the Erusean ace over the city. The latter was able to keep out of the LRSSG's grasp in a straight chase and even managed to drop a couple of bombs on the OMDF AEGIS destroyer _Scuttlefish,_ badly damaging the ship. Trigger grunted in annoyance.

'_Trigger. If we keep this up, someone's not going home. I'm going to get in front of him and try to bait him out. Once I line him up, you come up behind and take him.' _Wiseman suggested a plan to Trigger.

'Wiseman, if you stay in one place-' Trigger protested.

'_Let's hope it doesn't come to that.' _Wiseman ended the conversation before Trigger could finish what he was saying. They were both aware of the risks involved. Mihaly turned around looking for another target. Wiseman turned so that he could put himself in the way of Mihaly and bait him out. The play worked. When Wiseman turned away to get away from the area, Mihaly stuck to him like glue.

'_Bait worked. Time to take him for a ride!' _Wiseman said to Trigger, who took the trail position behind the two and followed. The chase took them across the city. Wiseman did a whole bunch of weaves over the submerged skyscrapers, attempting to keep Mihaly going in a straight line while also keeping on his toes so that the Su-30SM pilot didn't blast him out of the skies. Trigger attempted to get a lock on Mihaly's aircraft. No joy. He was moving around too much for a reliable lock.

'Wiseman, keep him in a line. He's moving around too much.' Trigger mentioned this to Wiseman. The latter compiled by periodically flying in a straight line. Doing this, Trigger managed to gain a single cannon shell hit on Mihaly's aircraft. That shell took the tip of one of the tailplanes off. Mihaly noticed and went into his erratic flight pattern again.

Blaze launched an attack at the second wingman of Sol Squadron, Wit. Wit saw Blaze coming to him at a side angle and turned towards him, fired a missile, and then dived towards the ground before Blaze could fire one of his own missiles at him. Blaze evaded by following Wit into the dive. Wit continued the dive to the mountains below, dragging Blaze away from the combat zone. Before slamming into the ground, Wit pulled up and took the chase into the wide mountain valleys at high speed. Blaze levelled out before hitting the ground and followed Wit as he travelled north-east. There were many plateaus around the area, and Wit used them to his advantage to escape missile locks. Groaning in annoyance, Blaze increased his speed to dangerous levels inside the valley to catch up. When he rounded a corner around one plateau, Wit wasn't there. Blaze didn't have to guess where he had gone, pulling up and flying over the top of the plateau. Sure enough, Wit had done a circle around the land feature and had intended to get on Blaze's six.

'Gotcha.' Blaze said to himself, firing a Sidewinder downwards at him. The missile caught Wit near the back of his aircraft, ripping off the back end of the left-hand wing, destroying an engine and ripping off one of the rear tailplanes. As he had been in a turn when the missile hit him, the sudden loss of lift threw the aircraft into an unstable spin. Wit ejected just before his aircraft fell out of the sky and exploded on contact with the ground. Blaze turned back towards Farbanti, looking to get back into the fight. Three down, two to go.

While Blaze had chased down Wit, Mythic was being chased down by Sol 4, Hermann. The Sol Squadron pilots were good, but Mythic managed to stay out of the tracking cones of their ASRAAM missiles. That said, she wasn't able to break the engagement. For that, she needed help from her squad's resident F-14 pilot. Snow came in from the side and fired a volley of missiles and cannon shells at Hermann. Hermann had to break sharply to just barely evade those missiles. While the Voslagian pilot was busy avoiding Snow and his AMRAAMs, Mythic turned around, got onto Hermann's rear and fired a Sidewinder. He avoided the first one. Mythic fired another. He didn't avoid the second one. The missile went up one of his Su-30M2's engine nozzles and exploded, taking out both engines and the two vertical stablizers in one fell swoop. His aircraft critically damaged, Hermann was forced to eject, leaving Mihaly as the only member of Sol Squadron still flying.

* * *

The LRSSG were close to completing their mission. Talon's squad was also close to completing theirs. Her squad of F-35s were climbing rapidly, trying to reach their assigned target firing zone. Talon looked to either side of her. Panthers 2, 3 and 4 were all there. Talon checked her altitude. 65,000 feet. Panther Squad was now at their firing zone.

'Mission command, Panther 1, we are at firing altitude.' Talon reported to the mission commander. She waited for a confirmation order. After a few seconds of silence there was a reply.

'_Copy that. All squads, mission command. Execute. Execute. Execute.' _

Across the entire Usean front, multitudes of Osean Air Defence and Maritime Defence fighter squadrons fired barrages of ASAT missiles into low earth orbit. If one were looking at a BLUFOR tracker, they would see that over most of the continent there were fighters. Those fighters were targeting satellites controlled by the Erusean armed forces.

Talon launched all four of the ASATs she was carrying in one salvo. The rest of her squad fired theirs off at the same time. Sixteen AGM-135 ASATs flew up into low earth orbit.

* * *

On the _Pilgrim I, _Captain Kei Nagase actually saw some of the ASATs rising up into orbit. Sitting in the mission control centre of the spacecraft with Warrant Officer Hubert and a couple of the other surviving technical personnel, she saw on a radar display that there were hundreds of objects entering orbit. Luckily, none of them were targeting her ship this time.

'What the fuck?' She swore for the first time in quite some time.

* * *

Raven had seen some of the ASAT-launching fighters take up position above his ship. He didn't know what they were doing, and he wouldn't know until one of the _Lekk's _crew showed him a picture from the radar's histogram later on.

* * *

Trigger and Wiseman meanwhile were still after Mihaly. The trio were doing circles over the submerged area, Wiseman trying to get Mihaly to stay still for Trigger to shoot him down. So far little progress had been made. Mihaly was a seasoned veteran and flew very erratically which made it hard for Trigger to get a shot off and make it connect. He had only landed three cannon shells in total, none of which had done any functional damage. Trigger was confident he could handle the situation, but he looked around at times for Blaze, without question the best pilot in the LRSSG. Trigger remembered seeing him chase down a Sol member outside of the combat zone boundaries, so he wouldn't be back for a while.

'_He hasn't fired yet. Waiting for the perfect shot? Trigger, don't let him take it!' _Wiseman commented while sounding strained, having pulled a high-g turn while speaking. He levelled out and so did Mihaly. Trigger took the opportunity and fired a missile into Mihaly's exposed rear. Mihaly cut his engines, rolled and pointed the nose up so that he took the missile at the side. His aircraft shook, but wasn't destroyed. Mihaly continued his normal method of flight shortly after, his Su-30 seemingly unaffected by tanking a direct missile shot. Trigger was bewildered. Wiseman took the fight up, and Mihaly followed, as did Trigger.

'_You're a good entertainer, but the show's over with this next shot.' _Mihaly spoke on their radio channel. He fired two missiles at the climbing Wiseman.

'_Wiseman, incoming!' _Count called out to his squad leader. Wiseman levelled out, his cockpit facing the ground far below.

'_I'll keep him on me. Just a bit long-' _Wiseman said just before the missiles hit him. One of the missiles, an ASRAAM, entered through his canopy and exploded, killing Wiseman before he had a chance to feel anything. His F-15C disintegrated. There was no way in hell he had survived that.

'_Wiseman!' _Collectively, everyone from Strider and Cyclops yelled.

'_Shit!' _Long Caster saw Wiseman's signal disappear. '_Cyclops 1 is down.' _

'_Wiseman, eject!' _Count urged his squad leader, not having seen what had happened to his plane.

'_I'm sorry, Count. His plane exploded.' _Jaeger had seen what happened and sadly informed Count of this. Trigger was left in shock for a few seconds. He was both angry and depressed. Not only had Mihaly managed to bag Wiseman, he had managed to do it because Trigger had failed to stop him. Trigger returned to his senses, and his sense of failure was quickly replaced by boiling anger within. Mihaly turned around, his next target set on Trigger. Trigger didn't let him take the first shot, firing a Sidewinder in anger at Mihaly as he descended towards the F-22 pilot. Mihaly had to evade it. Trigger fired another one. It missed completely. Mihaly passed by Trigger into the city. Trigger used the supermanuevabilty of his F-22 to pull a quick turn to face the ground. He held down on the cannon button and a stream of high explosive tracer shells came down towards Mihaly. The majority of them missed before the internal ammo drum went dry, but a few shells connected. Trigger fired two AMRAAMs. He was going to run himself out of ammo at this rate, but he had Mihaly on the run and on his toes.

'_Stay strong, we're not done here!' _Count said angrily. He was pissed just as much as Trigger was.

'_Cyclops 2, you've got the lead.' _Jaeger pressed Count to take control of his squad, even if it only consisted of Count and Huxian at the time.

'_Shit, I can't. Trigger should take the lead!' _Count retorted. He didn't have the same charisma as Wiseman, Trigger or Blaze.

'_Do it.' _Jaeger urged.

'_Count, Huxian, merge with Razgriz and form a barrier around Mister X. Don't let him out.' _Snow, Swordsman, took control of Cyclops for now.

'_Doin'.' _Huxian acknowledged, flying over to Razgriz Squad's formation and sticking with them. It took Count a few seconds for the order to register, but he came over in the end.

Trigger meanwhile was still giving Mihaly hell. He fired one of his last missiles, a Sidewinder, at Mihaly. It connected with him, and unlike the first missile he had landed a hit with, this one did some damage. Shrapnel from the warhead exploding punched through one of Mihaly's engines, damaging it. At that moment, he would have been vulnerable to another missile. But seeing as Trigger was now completely out of weapons, he was safe. At least for a hot minute. Trigger came up behind Mihaly and pushed his engine throttle _all _the way forward. He was going to ram Mihaly out of the air.

He was about to collide with the back of Mihaly's aircraft when the satellite network went offline, which disabled the linked sensor network. This sudden massive loss of sensor information overloaded the processors in Trigger's avionics suite which as a result temporarily crashed his radar and HUD.

This reset also brought Trigger back to his senses. Trigger pulled away from Mihaly before the two collided mid-air. Trigger climbed upwards, which was when he saw a series of flashes in the skies. They weren't explosions. They looked like… meteors?

Blaze was a couple of dozen kilometres away from the outskirts of Farbanti when he saw something reentering Earth's atmosphere. A couple of minutes before that, Blaze's sensor package had locked out its cooperative mode and went into local, which meant that he was only seeing or hearing whatever his radar and radio systems could detect. Blaze guessed that the upper command had failed to calculate that the ASAT strike would affect Osean systems as well.

_Friendly fire time, _Blaze thought to himself as he entered Farbanti's boundaries. His aircraft's IFF system registered the aircraft that were ahead of him as LRSSG or otherwise friendly.

'This is your local Blaze, anyone else's CEC system non-functional?' Blaze asked when he got back into radio range.

'_Broken.' _Trigger answered him solemnly, depressed.

'You sound-' Blaze began to say, but quickly realised why. Wiseman was nowhere to be seen. 'Ah, shit.' He cursed.

'_Listen up. We've just lost our real-time connection with command. Actually, there's no contact with anyone outside of our LOS.' _Long Caster reported the bad news. He also had good news. _'Farbanti is now under Osean control. The operation was a success. That said, we've got no follow up orders. I'll direct you to the closest friendly airfield. Leave this airspace immediately.' _

Following their directive, the surviving ten LRSSG aircraft left the Farbanti AO and went south-east towards one of the refuelling stations. Everyone in the squad was silent. They were down two pilots, and their commanding officer was dead. As he led the LRSSG back, Blaze felt hollow inside. Another good man was gone.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Forward Air Base McKenna, a former Erusean airbase now in Osean hands. Strider landed first, followed by Cyclops, finally followed by Razgriz. They wouldn't be staying there for long, only standing by for an hour to refuel and catch a short break. When everyone was out of their aircraft, Blaze briefly assembled everyone by the hangars. Once everyone was listening, he said what he had to say.

'Farbanti's been taken. But our CO is dead and we've got no direct line to command. Until we get back, as senior ranking officer I'm taking command. Any objections?' Blaze asked. There were none. 'Alright. Take a piss, get something to eat, we'll be leaving and going back to Cape Rainy in one hour.'


	60. Chapter 58 - Broken Man

Raven was on the bridge of the _Lekk _when the ship's navigation officer brought up critical information.

'Sir, the GPS system went offline.' The nav officer reported. Raven put down his cup of coffee and walked over to the GPS dashboard. Indeed, the information wasn't updating. The map was stuck on their last known position.

'When's the last time you used a map?' Raven asked, looking at a drawer underneath the console that contained a bunch of nautical charts for all of the world's oceans.

'I'm current, sir. Manual navigation?' The nav officer replied, reaching down to grab a chart for the Cascade Ocean. Raven nodded to the officer and returned to the front of the bridge.

'Helmsman, maintain current course. TAO, light up radar.' Raven gave directions to the other two officers on the bridge, taking a seat at the front and picking up his cup of coffee. To him, it felt like it was going to be a long day.

The coordinates that Raven had been given by his handler pointed to a random area of water in the middle of the Cascade Ocean, about a third of the way from the Usean continent to the Anean continent. Raven pondered a guess as to if that had any leads to his handler's nationality. Three choices. Emmerian, Estovakian or a Norden. Most likely Estovakian, Raven decided after a few seconds of thought. The _Lekk _pressed forward to the coordinates. When they were ten minutes away from where they needed to be, the ship's radar detected signatures surrounding it.

'Numerous radar contacts, range thirty kilometres.' The TAO reported this to Raven.

'How many?' Raven asked. He didn't want to walk right into an Erusean Navy fleet.

'Seven. Central ship is a _Hubert_-class aircraft carrier.' The TAO read off the screen, including extra information as the radar itself read from a database of known vessels. 'Additional ships include a _Kirov_-class battlecruiser and five _Daring_-class destroyers.'

_Emmerians. _Raven thought. To his knowledge the Republic of Emmeria Navy was the only navy in the world to operate that class of air defence destroyers. Raven pulled down a microphone handpiece that was meant for communication with other ships.

'Carrier in the vicinity of RT-40138, this is the merchant ship _Lekk. _State your purpose and intent.' Raven hailed the carrier, presumably the flagship of the carrier strike group. He waited for a reply.

'_Lekk, this is Emmerian Navy warship CVN-0403, waiting for cargo confirmation.' _A woman on the other side of the radio answered. These were the people he was looking for.

'0-4-0-3, coming in along your starboard side. We'll be waiting for transfer.' Raven said before putting the handpiece and directing the helmsman to come alongside the 300-metre long aircraft carrier.

The _Lekk _approached from the front of the carrier strike group. To get in position, the 140-metre long converted cargo ship had to pass through the formation and circle behind the carrier so that the ship was on her right-hand side. The carrier slowed down so that the _Lekk _could catch up. There was little aircraft activity on the carrier's flight deck. The only aircraft that launched were a pair of F/A-18E Super Hornets. Once the _Lekk _was lined up with the carrier, a boat was launched from the rear of the carrier. That small boat peeled off and came over with a party to board the _Lekk. _Raven watched this happen from the catwalk surrounding the superstructure while drinking from that same cup of coffee. The boarding party entered the ship via a lift that was provided to the port side of the _Lekk. _Once Raven had finished his coffee and the lift had brought the boarding party up to the main deck, Raven dropped his coffee cup on his chair in the bridge and walked down to the deck. The cargo was on the deck where the boarding party was waiting.

* * *

**September 20th, 2019**

**Cape Rainy Air Force Base, Northern Erusea, Usea**

Alex, Jaeger and Long Caster, the three most senior officers of the LRSSG, were discussing things in an isolated room somewhere at the ocean side of the base. It was early in the morning.

'Techs confirmed it for us. The satellite network was completely destroyed. The Eruseans had the same idea.' Long Caster was the first to speak at the meeting. Alex rubbed his face with both hands.

'What about sats used for civilians?' Alex asked. Surely those weren't targeted.

'They weren't explicitly targeted, but debris from others brought them out of commission. Right now, there are no satellites over the Usean continent period.' Long Caster explained. Jaeger sighed in disappointment. Their deployment was about to get a lot harder.

'Comes with a lot of problems. Namely, we don't have comms with anyone outside of line of sight or landlines. And because we're in the middle of nowhere, we don't have either of those.' Alex pointed out their most immediate problem.

'In other words, we're blind, without any standing orders and without any support.' Jaeger summarised, mostly correctly.

'And that's not mentioning the fact that our CO is dead.' Long Caster sadly mentioned. Both Alex and Jaeger nodded in acknowledgement of that fact. 'Jaeger, you're the executive officer.'

'Blaze outranks me both in paygrade and in experience. I think you should take the lead.' Jaeger, an OADF O-4 Major, turned to Alex, an OMDF O-5 Commander.

'If you need me in that role, I'll take it.' Alex said. 'We need to inform the guys of the situation.'

'Want to go wake them?' Jaeger asked.

'Nah. Let them catch up on some sleep.' Alex decreed, standing up to signal the end of the meeting. The other two stood.

'Until we can determine where our allies and enemies stand, we're gonna double our combat air patrol sorties. I don't want to be caught unaware.' Alex told the other two what his final order was before leaving the room and heading back to the main base. Farbanti was meant to be their final operation to end the war. All it had done was made their job a hell of a lot harder. Worse, there were some questions that Alex wanted answered.

* * *

_**Lekk**_

Talisman and Raven stared each other down. Two ace fighter pilots, imposing their presence on each other.

'So you're the Black Raven. I was expecting someone of your reputation to be younger.' Lucy Hunter started the conversation. She had heard of the Black Raven, a mysterious but formidable mercenary. Now she got to meet him in person. Black and greying hair, cold blue eyes and an imposing posture.

'I wasn't expecting my handler to be an Emmerian.' Raven replied. It was exceedingly rare for the Emmerian armed forces to hire a third party, even in times of crisis.

'If it weren't for the circumstances, I was hoping you'd never find out.' Lucy said, scanning Raven up and down. His accent and appearance…

'We're of the same nationality.' Lucy confronted him on this. 'Fighter pilot, operating off a ship. RENF?'

'RELF.' Raven corrected her. The RENF was the Republic of Emmeria Naval Forces. RELF stood for Republic of Emmeria Land Forces, respectively.

'An army man as a pilot. Who would have thought.' Lucy said sarcastically.

'First time you've seen a retired soldier?' Raven asked almost sarcastically. Lucy scoffed in amusement. Raven had his wits about him. She looked behind the merc and saw the thing that her intelligence service had been looking for the good part of a month.

'I see you found it.' Lucy changed the subject towards Raven's mission. Raven turned around and glanced at the target. The Emmerian military personnel that had boarded his ship were preparing the drone for transfer to the carrier.

'And a group of Belkan War veterans. They had fancy tech up their sleeves.' Raven mentioned the attack aircraft that he had found when he recovered the drone.

'They always do.' Lucy had figured they brought some kind of advanced weapon with them to the Usean continent.

'But that's besides the point. What _is _this _thing _that I've captured for you?' Raven asked, referring to the drone. Lucy stared him in the eye.

'It's an experimental 7th-generation aircraft.' Lucy gave a vague answer.

'I'm sorry. _Seventh_-gen?' Raven asked, confused.

'You heard me.' Lucy retorted. Raven turned to look at the drone, and then he looked at his own Su-57, a 5th-generation aircraft. This drone was a prototype of an aircraft two generations ahead of his own. Raven whistled. He wondered how well they could perform in combat. A helicopter came into hover above the _Lekk, _drowning out any further conversation. Raven and Talisman waited for a couple of minutes for the helicopter to lift the drone off the deck before either of them said anything.

'My intelligence suggests this drone has something special. If that's true, I'd like to invite you to see.' Lucy invited Raven to follow the drone over to the Emmerian carrier. Raven shrugged and followed Lucy and her boarding party. Raven was intrigued.

* * *

**Cape Rainy AFB**

A couple of hours later, Alex had the now awake LRSSG pilots assembled in one of the hangars. Many looked sad without Wiseman around.

'As you're all aware, Wiseman's KIA. As senior officer, I'm taking command of the LRSSG. But that's the least of our problems.' Alex was briefing them. At the end of the sentence, he stood up and clicked a button on the remote he was holding to show an image on a projector screen. It showed the perspective of someone in an aircraft looking at flaming trails shooting into the atmosphere.

'These are our satellites. GPS, communications, early warning, all gone. The Eruseans had the same idea as us.' Alex said outright what those flames were. There were a few quiet mutters around the room.

'Wait, so how do we communicate with other allied forces?' Count asked. Without satellites-

'Without a landline, we don't. As it stands, we have no communications with anyone outside of Cape Rainy.' Alex answered the question.

'What about Fencer?' Huxian asked. 'He ejected over Farbanti.'

'I was about to get to that. Trigger, you'll be taking Strider back to Farbanti to see if you can recover our missing pilot. Cyclops, you'll be running combat air patrol around the area.' Alex gave out mission orders to the two squads.

'And of Razgriz?' Tailor asked what the veteran squadron would be doing.

'We'll be splitting up to see if we can get into contact with any major Osean garrisons.' Alex replied. He waited a moment for any other questions. 'If that's all, go and kit up. Squad leaders, wait with me for extra details.'

* * *

**Emmerian Navy aircraft carrier **_**Silverhunter**_

'It's an intriguing design. I wonder what damaged it.' Raven spoke his mind as he and Talisman watched an engineering team disassemble the engine of the drone so it didn't go anywhere.

'An ace of significant skill.' Talisman theorised. From the reports she had seen, the drone was highly capable. Raven grunted in agreement. One of the lead engineers in the hangar bay they had set aside as containment looked towards the enclosed tower that Talisman and Raven were standing in.

'_Ma'am, the UCAV's engine has been disconnected.' _He said, waiting for orders. Talisman picked up a radio handpiece.

'Hook it up to a power source.' Talisman ordered. The engineers brought in some cabling and a portable generator. They hooked up the drone to that generator and flipped an activation switch. The drone suddenly shuddered. There were some electrical startup noises that emanated from it. A dim red light flashed at the front for a few seconds before turning to green and then fading. The drone was powered and active.

Captain Alvin H. _Chopper _Davenport groaned as the life support system around him woke up the broken example of a human. A dull headache quickly developed, which was counteracted by synthetic painkillers. On digital cameras linked to his cerebral cortex, Chopper's surroundings became visible. His view was blurred at first but the image focused in his head and Chopper quickly realised where he was. He was in the hangar bay of an aircraft carrier. There were people, engineers and techs, surrounding his chassis.

'Where am I…?' Chopper asked groggily. Last time he had been awake, he had encountered his squad leader over a city somewhere over the Usean continent.

'_You're on an aircraft carrier, the Silverhunter.' _A female voice answered his question. Chopper didn't recognise the voice, but he recognised the accent as that of an Emmerian.

'Hang on, when did I get from Erusea to Anea?' Chopper asked, confused. Chopper's recollections of the events in the past few months were hazy at best.

'_You're still in Usean waters. We're approaching the country of North Point.' _The female explained.

'And who are you?' Chopper asked. There were many questions he needed answered.

'_I'm Lieutenant-Colonel Lucy Hunter. I'm a pilot and analyst for the Emmerian intelligence services.' _Lucy explained to him. '_I'm part of a task force that's looking to assist you.' _

'How are you meant to assist me? I'm a dead man inside this coffin of a plane.' Chopper asked a sarcastic question. There was no amount of assistance that could save him from being the undead pilot of an experimental plane.

'_As I understand it, you have friends in Osea yes? The pilots of Razgriz Squadron?' _Lucy rebuffed him with a couple of facts.

'Razgriz? So they did end up getting that callsign. How are they?' Chopper mused on the one joke he had made nine years prior over the Jilachi Desert.

'_I'm not certain of your squad leader or your wingman, but your second in command is fairing well in low earth orbit.' _Lucy said. Chopper went to exhale, remembered that he didn't have functioning lungs and chuckled instead.

'Back to the point: how can you assist me?' Chopper still didn't have a clear meaning of how he could do anything.

'_You're part of a Belkan construct. Is there any information you can give me from that?' _Lucy pressed for valuable information. Chopper struggled to recollect his memories. He remembered an aircraft name from before his inhibition modem had broken.

'I'm inside an ADFX-10, a Prototype Raven.' Chopper mentioned this. He tried to recall other snips of information that he had heard. 'Part of something called the REDEEMER project, headed by Doctor Schroeder.'

Up in the observation tower, Raven shot a side glance to Lucy.

'If I had known there was a human pilot in there…' He said quietly.

'Had to capture it to know for sure.' Lucy explained. Raven crossed his arms and watched as the pilot of the drone kept talking.

'_Are there more of you?' _Lucy asked if there were more 'piloted' drones.

'I don't think so. But, I saw a bunch of airframes similar to this thing.' Chopper said. When he had come off the production lines and activated, there had been two other bodies of aircraft, both painted a shade of grey.

'_Do you know where your body was made?' _Lucy almost asked that as if Chopper was a robot, which wasn't entirely incorrect.

'I don't know exactly where.' Chopper really had to think to answer that question. 'It was somewhere in Belka. Near a body of water.'

Up in the tower, Lucy wrote this down. Information useful to her and her organisation. Raven noted what Chopper had said.

'Belkans.' He said coldly. Lucy looked at him. There more he wanted to say, she could tell, but he wasn't letting any of it slide. Lucy was about to ask Chopper another question when a pair of sailors entered the room, out of breath.

'Ma'am,' One of them said between breaths. 'Second ship contact spotted to the south-east.'

Lucy looked to Raven, who looked back.

'I work alone.' He said, shooting down any chance of the second ship approaching the task force being one of his. Lucy looked at Chopper's UCAV body in the hangar. She sighed.

'If you could, get my aircraft ready.' Lucy declared, moving to exit the observation tower for what Raven guessed was a crew ready room. Once she left, Raven looked to the seaman who had given them the information.

'I need a way back to my ship.'


	61. Chapter 59 - Recovery Operation

**Strider Squadron  
Farbanti International Airport**

At the same time that Talisman and Raven were intercepting an unknown ship, Strider Squadron had flown all the way to Farbanti again hoping that Fencer was still alive somewhere on the ground. As they entered the city boundaries, Trigger was hoping that there were still Oseans in control of the capital.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Strider 1/Trigger: F-15E Strike Eagle_

_Strider 2/Jaeger: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 3/Lanza: F-15C Eagle_

_Strider 4/Tailor: F-15C Eagle_

'_Unidentified Eagles entering Farbanti airspace, state identity and purpose or you will be subject to lethal force.' _A man with an imposing voice sounded on an open radio channel. Trigger answered it.

'Strider Squadron, of the LRSSG. We're here to recover a downed wingman.' Trigger stated. He was flying his old modified F-15E. When it came to ferry duty, the F-22 was a poor performer.

'_Ah, the LRSSG. Does your guy go by the callsign Fencer?' _The air defence man asked, more relaxed now that he knew he was dealing with fellow Oseans.

'That's him.' Trigger said. Strider had found their guy.

'_I'm granting you landing permissions at the civilian airport. He'll be waiting by the terminals.' _The ADC permitted Strider to land at the international airport. _'Also, is your base still intact?' _

'It is. We've come from Cape Rainy.' Trigger answered that question. There was no further reply. Trigger came in for a landing approach and landed gently on the primary runway. The Strike Eagle slowed on contact with the tarmac. Trigger taxied from the main runway to the terminal area.

As he rolled over to the big entry building, Trigger saw Fencer standing around with an Osean soldier, waiting for a pickup. He appeared to be uninjured. Fencer saw the F-15E and recognised the squadron marking. Trigger pulled up and opened the canopy for Fencer to enter. An internal ladder opened for Fencer to get in. Cyclops 3 sat down and strapped in. Trigger closed the canopy and rolled down to the runway.

'Strider 1, taking off at Runway 2-2 Left.' Trigger announced his departure to the air traffic controller. Once again he didn't get a reply. Fencer and Trigger didn't speak as they sped up down the runway and lifted up into the skies. The other three were circling the airport waiting for Trigger to meet up with them.

'Strider, we've got our guy, time to get out.' Trigger reported to Jaeger, Lanza and Tailor. Trigger rejoined the formation and together they left Farbanti. They now headed back towards Cape Rainy.

* * *

**Cyclops/Razgriz Squadron**

**Cape Rainy**

Count, Huxian and Mythic were running today's combat air patrols around the area. Mythic was supposed to be with Razgriz on their communications run, but because she was flying around with an F-35B, her ferry radius wasn't brilliant. As a result, she had combined with Cyclops.

_AIRCRAFT_

_Cyclops 1/Count: F-15C Eagle_

_Cyclops 2/Huxian: F-15C Eagle_

_Razgriz 3/Mythic: F-35B Lightning II_

Aside from a small force of F-16Cs sitting at Alert 5, they were the only aircraft available to counter any potential threats. Half an hour into their CAP, a group of unidentified transport aircraft breached the south-east corner of the air defence zone.

'_Cyclops, transports detected bearing 150. Intercept.' _Long Caster pointed that out. The trio moved to go chase down the unknowns. They were fairly close by when the breach was detected, so it didn't take long to get into position. Unbeknownst to them, the transports had escorts. Stealth fighters. Cyclops didn't know they were there until the flight lead of the fighters contacted them.

'_F-15 Eagles, are you Osean?' _The flight leader asked. Count hesitated to speak for a few seconds.

'Yeah. This is Cyclops Squadron. Who are you guys?' Count asked haphazardly.

'_Merlin Squadron, of the Federation of Central Usea Air Force. We're escorting the 71st Air Defence Squadron to Cape Rainy.' _The leader of the stealth fighter squadron replied. Count, Huxian and Mythic all gave each other a glance. Count shrugged. He chose to trust Merlin Leader. In the distance a group of massive C-5 Galaxy transports became visible over the horizon. There was a squad of eight surrounding the transports. Mythic leant forward in her cockpit to see what they were. Her eyes focused… F-35As.

'_CTOL Lightnings. FCU paint scheme.' _Mythic confirmed that they were indeed who they said they were. Despite that, she remained vigilant. Count and Huxian on the other hand were more relaxed.

'Merlin, form up and follow us. We'll lead you to the base.' Count decided, turning in a circle and indicating for the fighters and transports to follow him. 'Long Caster, the transports are friendly.'

'_Copy that, Cyclops. Bring them to the base.' _Long Caster confirmed what Count had said. The F-35As caught up to the F-15s and single F-35B and flew alongside them.

* * *

**Razgriz 1**

**Mount Lambert**

Blaze didn't have to go far to understand that the loss of communications had caused some serious fuckups for both Osean and Erusean forces. Flying alone, Blaze had elected to go south-east from the base to check on a regional airbase that the Marine Corps had captured a little bit before the Farbanti invasion. He had just entered the air defence zone around the base when his radar went crazy indicating that he was being locked on by a SAM site. Blaze didn't have time to contact the battery commander because he was almost instantly fired upon. Blaze went low and fast to avoid the missile. He then increased his speed to get close to the base.

Things slowly went to shit from there. Someone - Blaze assumed it was the Eruseans - had positioned ZSU-23-4s around the airfield as close-in defence. Already aware of Blaze's presence, the closest one to him quickly got a track and started firing. Cursing, Blaze ascended to get out of its effective engagement distance as green tracers chased him upwards. A couple of kilometres up, one of the base's SAM batteries fired again at him. Blaze popped chaff to throw off the missile and narrowly evaded. The ZSUs down below were still firing at him despite the fact they weren't likely to hit him. The skies around him were covered in black smoke as those shells exploded around him.

Blaze wasn't packing any air-to-ground munitions. The only solution to his problem was to bug out the way he had come from. Swiftly pulling a 180 back towards Cape Rainy, Blaze quickly left the air defence zone around the base before another missile went to chase him. Once he was out of range, Blaze loosened up. He asked himself how many more allied bases had been taken over by remnant Erusean forces.

* * *

**Razgriz 2 and 3  
San Salvacion**

Where Blaze was narrowly avoiding death, Snow and Grimm were flying to an area still controlled by allied forces. The forces in control of the capital city of San Salvacion had come up with the same idea that the LRSSG had and were running CAP patrols all around the area. The pair figured this out when they were met by a flight of Su-27s.

'_Unidentified F-14D and Typhoon FGR.4, tell your purpose or you will be fired upon.' _The squad leader of the Su-27s demanded of them.

'This is Razgriz 2, callsign Swordsman, of the LRSSG. We're looking to confirm the positions and status of allied strongholds.' Snow, the senior of the two, answered the call. The pilot on the other end sounded relieved.

'_Razgriz 2, standby. Osean Regional Command needs a word with you.' _The squad leader told them. Snow waited while something behind the scenes was sorted out. A moment later a new voice came on via the radio.

'_Razgriz Squadron, this is Brigadier-General Dylan Cook. I'm transmitting a package to you. Take these to your company commander.' _The ground commander, a Marine and an aviator that Snow had worked with a few times, said. Snow looked at his data computer. It was registering that he had a .PDF file stored onboard.

'Understood sir, I'll bring these back to our base.' Snow confirmed that order and turned back for Cape Rainy. General Cook asked a question just before they left local radio range.

'_Swordsman, is Blaze still around?' _He asked.

'Yes, sir.' Snow replied.

'_Good. Tell him to keep fighting. Say that it was from Reaper.'_


End file.
